


Upstream

by Sarah Problem (SarahProblem)



Series: Come With Me [20]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Complete, Established Relationship, Family Bonding, M/M, Married Couple, Married Kirk/McCoy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-13 18:49:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 50,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18474946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SarahProblem/pseuds/Sarah%20Problem
Summary: Attending a Medical and Research conference on Pattor, McCoy's schedule is full, while Jim's is empty. While the two go separate directions, each to enjoy the week in their own way, tragedy strikes. Lives are lost and bonds strengthened as they all try to bring their family back together.





	1. Chapter 1

Upstream

by Sarah Problem

 

 

 

 

With his eyes held tightly shut, his face up to the strong Pattorite sun, Doctor Leonard McCoy tightened his grip on the metal bar in front of him. He was holding on so tightly that his fingers were starting to feel locked up.

 **_Don't_ ** _look down. **Keep** an eye on Jim. Hold on **tight**. The seatbelt is on, **don't** check it again._

_Okay... just a quick glance. Can that thin thing hold me in place? How old is that kid who buckled me in, anyway? Why is this barkeen so fidgety? Is it nervous? Why should it be so nervous?_

_Doesn't it do this all the time?_

_They wouldn't lie about that, right?_

He wasn't sure if the constantly fidgeting animal under his saddle was nervous or not. If it was, then maybe it was best he didn't ask. His grip, already deathly tight on the rigid metal handlebar across the front of his saddle, tightened an impossible fraction further. The thin, leather strap across his lap that he was told was a _seatbelt_ , felt totally inadequate to the task. The saddle that straddled the giant, green, multi-striped, flying lizard-like beast felt too loose on the monstrous creature, and the wind was already strong enough to worry him.

They'd been warned that once over the cliff edge, the winds could be near-hurricane strong.

So, they _might_ want to hang on tight.

Yeah, like they had to tell _him_  twice.

And they weren't even _off the ground_ yet. But with the animal's back over four meters off the ground, it already seemed like a long way down.

_This seatbelt is a joke! Both Jim and I are **kilos** heavier than a Pattorite. How the hell do they expect it to--_

"Bones! Relax!"

Jim's voice broke into McCoy's thoughts, forcing him to open his eyes.

In the tandem saddle ahead of him, Jim turned and threw a smile over his shoulder. The bright sun and strong wind buffeted Jim's hair as well, throwing glints off of the lighter streaks and shone almost blindingly off the white stripe on the side. The thin, tinted goggles both men wore barely dampened the happy glow Jim was giving off. They were going to _fly_ , on top of an animal that practically matched old Earth's dragon lore feature for feature, and it was clear that every cell in Jim's body was thrilled at the idea. Dressed in jeans and light t-shirt, Jim looked so happy and excited that McCoy felt a bit guilty for letting his own fears concern Jim for even one second.

"We'll be _fine!_ " Jim threw over his shoulder, just loud enough that the wind didn't tear his words away. "Tourists do this _all the time!"_

McCoy leaned to the side, looking around Jim to the Pattorite who sat, saddleless, on the neck of the elephant-sized beast. Tall, thin and with the white, pebble-rough skin and dark, wiry hair of their species, McCoy new that the short haircut meant they were too immature to proclaim themselves as one of the three Pattorite genders. The skin on their jutting, triangular forehead bone ridge was still smooth, and their pointed jaw still sharp with youth. All Pattorite's had the look of a Terran bird-of-prey in their skull shape. Their light-colored skin spoke of living mostly out of the sun. McCoy could see the millennia of evolution and development that spoke of a mix of an airborne ancestor and a dark cave existence.

And this Pattorite pilot, dressed only in tight, dark shorts and vest, looked too young to McCoy to be selling barkeen rides to tourists.

"You _can_ stay on the ground if you want!" Jim yelled, looking concerned.

Another wave of guilt swept over McCoy, along with another hard gust of warm wind. He looked back at the cliff edge close to their left. It had to be a good thousand meter drop to the canyon river below. If not more. And there was no telling how deep that river was. Pattorite's rivers went miles deep in spots, rivaling Earth's ocean trenches. And the canyon walls weren't all that far apart. At least, they didn't look like it to McCoy.

_I've only got a few days off to spend with him on this assignment. Then on to the Medical conference, while he sight-sees without me. I need to suck it up._

_At least if we die leaving a greasy spot on the side of these canyon walls, it'll be together._

_If their colossal river fish don't eat our remains, that is._

McCoy shook his head and forced out a smile.

"You wanna fly on this thing?" McCoy yelled. "Then we _fly!"_

As Jim straightened in his seat, he threw McCoy a grin that would make any grizzly death well worth it.

The young Pattorite raised both hands, and with a wild whoop suddenly slapped the barkeen on both shoulders. A sudden jolt took McCoy by surprise as the barkeen shifted to unfold its large wings out to the side. They were huge and leathery looking, and McCoy could feel the powerful muscles under him shift and roll. Then, the pilot whistled another signal and McCoy's saddle started rolling side to side with the barkeen's sudden lope to the cliff's edge. Then, with a jump that almost shocked McCoy into losing his grip, they were over the side and falling.

And it was a real _fall_. Straight down and so fast McCoy had the breath startled out of him. His grip on the handle and the belt around his waist kept him from flying off the saddle. It was several year-long seconds before the barkeen flared its wings, caught an updraft and forced them to a sudden jolt as it evened out.

McCoy gulped, his mouth dry as if he'd been screaming into the wind.

He suspected he had.

The barkeen's wings barely moved as it caught an updraft and mostly glided. McCoy could feel the strong roll of muscles the animal used to follow the flow of air and adjust their flight to the center of the narrow canyon. And now, instead of being in the almost-too-warm sunshine they were in dim, cool shade. Almost a half a kilometer from the top edges, with canyon walls on either side, it was almost like being in a tunnel. The rock walls were jagged, covered with jutting rocks, ledges, blocks of windows, dark cave entrances, and the ever-present bridges that connected one side to the other. All flashing by so fast that McCoy could barely catch the details out of the corner of his eye.

From space, Pattor looked like a green and rust colored jigsaw puzzle, with various size land masses separated by fathomless canyons. Due to planetary conditions that Spock had explained, and McCoy had just as quickly forgotten, the water flowing over the planet's high spots had carved out massive canyons over millions of years. The ancient flows left some flat areas as large as some of Earth's states, and some as small as islands, separated by wide and deep canyons full of water. Pattor had no seas, but only deep pools and flowing rivers that disappeared into underground streams. The liquid reappearing as permanent geysers along the equator that blew steam high into the atmosphere. Winds would take the vapor, cool it off, and rain would fall onto the flat surfaces, providing moisture for thick, wild growth on the plateaus.

Millions of years had deepened the canyons between land masses, and the life had evolved to live not only on the surfaces, in the sunlight, but in the deep and dark caves on the sides of the endless canyon walls. The miles deep rivers, provided fish in the same way Earth's oceans did.

The Pattorites themselves had learned to hunt, farm, and tunnel down to the fast-moving rivers for water, fish and cliff prey. They learned to fly or bridge across the canyons, to form large and diverse civilizations. And, like other cultures, to wage war when diplomacy, or common sense, failed. The first sign of war, between one land mass and another, was the destruction of the bridges between them.

As a member of the Federation, the Pattorites were known as a quiet people. Friendly, and helpful, and just a bit shy. Visitors were welcomed in their more modern cities, towns, and villages. But all were discouraged from exploring the rest except by guided tours. Because deep in these multi-branching canyons, even Starships had a hard time scanning. Kilometers thick dirt and rock was a surefire way to stop signals coming in or going out, unless you happened to be directly overhead. Even then, natural signal blocking minerals interfered. So, best not to get lost on the river.

The wind now was rough and cold, his thin shirt of no use as it was forced against him, sleeves and hem flapping as the wind tried to rip it off him altogether. McCoy was thankful for the goggles, knowing he'd have been blinded otherwise.

In front of them, in the distance, it looked like the canyon dead-ended. All McCoy could do was hold on as they came upon that wall at high speed.

Just before McCoy would have sworn they were going to hit the wall, Jim whooped loudly. The barkeen banked sharply to the right, almost rolling them completely sideways, then suddenly rolled to the left. The barkeen made two incredibly tight turns to follow the jagged path of the river below. It felt like a move made more by memory than sight, and McCoy almost panicked as his ass came off the seat both times, the seatbelt and his death grip on the saddle the only thing keeping him on.

 _How the hell did they even see that?!_ McCoy wondered breathlessly, almost laughing in relief as the canyon straightened for a bit. _They have to know this part of the river by heart! Thank God!_

The next few minutes were calmer, and let McCoy's adrenalin drop enough that he could actually take in the scenery that was flashing by.

It was beautiful. The layers of worn rock and earth made stripes of various shades and thicknesses on the side of the canyon, exposing what must be millions of years of water erosion, volcanic activity, and asteroid collisions. At the level they were at now, it was almost twilight, with little sunlight making its way down. Below them, it was dark, but between and around the movement of the barkeen's wings he could see the dark roil of liquid, a bit of lighter froth, and hear the thunder of moving water. McCoy had been told that on this side of the land mass the river was fast and deep. On the western side of this particular land mass, which was about the size of a small country, the water was slower and was safer for boating and fishing.

 _I sure wouldn't want to be down in that._ McCoy thought, catching glimpses of the river below. _I bet it only gets the sun for minutes a day. Make it a bitch to navigate._

The ride seemed to last forever before the barkeen started pulling up, its massive wings fighting to pull them up and out of the canyon. McCoy had to lean forward, almost over Jim, who was leaning into the climb as well. The smooth glide turned into a rough roll of muscles as the barkeen flew higher and higher, until, like a cork popped from a bottle, they suddenly hit clear air and the sun. Far below them, McCoy could see the height of the cliff edge descent into a lower, flatter plane that stretched out to the horizon and some distant hills beyond.

Close to the edge of the canyon, down where the wind wasn't as strong, hundreds of older Pattorite buildings of colored clay and wood were clustered together in the town called _Fallat_. The whole town was a circular shape. The larger outer buildings were shops and businesses, their broad backs like guard walls, where products were brought in. All faced the center of the town, where brick paved pedestrian-only roads made a maze of the center. The Pattorites never used metal when natural or woven materials would do, having saved their metal resources for the exploration of their tiny moons and local asteroid belt.

Just outside of Fallat was a kilometer-or-so packed-dirt surface, where hundreds of flying vehicles of all kinds had set down. Two of them the _Enterprise's_ shuttles, like the one they'd come in on. And beyond that, stretching further than he could see, were rolling hills covered by thick jungles, with glimpses of farmlands and road in between. To the other side was the canyon, with a wild scattering of pedestrian and vehicle bridges to the other land mass. There lived a separate people and culture, so much like this one that only a resident knew how they differed. The bridges from this height looked like stitches, holding the two people's together.

_The tour guide said that the universal Pattorite declaration of war was the cutting of the bridge ropes between two nations. Once done, it would take both sides to co-operate to rebuild them. I can see why they call them the Weave of the World._

They flew over the town on their way back to the landing spot, one of dozens of barkeen in the sky. Mechanical vehicles weren't allowed over the town and were restricted to the area over ground roads. The rest of the sky was open for barkeen travel.

As they flew over the low, two-story buildings, McCoy could pick out the roof of the hospital by its size and location. The majority of Pattorites lived in the mostly-natural tunnels underground instead of building up, and so had built their brand new, state of the art, hospital in that manner.

_A week of medical conferences, all underground, while Jim gets to sightsee with the rest of the crew. Damned if I don't get the short end of the stick sometimes. But I guess they've all earned it. I've had my share of fun on the way in, while the ship worked. Now it's my time to work while they play._

_But I sure wish our playtime could have synced up a lot more._

Their assignment had been to pick up various medical professionals and researchers from over a dozen systems and convey them to Pattor for the medical conference. The three weeks of visiting with his medical peers had given McCoy a chance to indulge and talk medical shop with dozens of researchers who's work he'd read, but had never met. Most were leaders in their various fields, and McCoy had to admit that he'd been tickled to meet most of them. And he'd been prouder than a single rooster with a full hen house to show them all around his MedBay.

Most had never traveled much, and more than a few were totally jealous of the top-of-the-line equipment McCoy got to work with daily. Not all researchers or scientists were well funded. Not all would take Federation credits even if they were offered. Some had great ideas or were on the verge of breakthroughs that might be desperately needed in the future. Gatherings like this, in neutral locations, with free rides arranged by the Federation, was a way for a lot of the medical community to get together and see what was going on.

And being the CMO of the _Enterprise_ had its perks. Those attending the conference and presentations would be trying to catch his eye. If he gave a good report to the Starfleet Surgeon General's office about them, they could expect a follow-up. And maybe offers of support and supplies to continue their research.

Jim had been indulgent and understanding over all the long nights McCoy had stayed up to all hours, talking shop with other medical researchers and doctors. And Jim didn't begrudge all the meals they'd missed having together over the three weeks as Jim and the crew worked, and the MedBay all but played.

_I just hope he finds a lot of people to hang out with, while he's off and I'm working. He deserves all the fun he can get._

After a few minutes of slow turns and easy gliding, the barkeen settled where it had started. As they landed, McCoy could see a few of the _Enterprise_ crew in line for a turn.

_I'm sure Jim's not done with the barkeens yet. Maybe he'll hit this ride a few dozen times more before we leave. Looks like he'll have company if he's so inclined._

The barkeen sighed as its full weight settled on the ground, and pulled its wings back in. With a loud whoop, Jim unlatched his seatbelt and swung his leg over the side of the saddle, sliding down to the ground. His hair was sticking up wildly, his cheeks windburned, and his grin huge.

"Wasn't that great!" Jim yelled over the wind as he turned to McCoy, slapping his thigh. He pulled off his goggles. "What a rush! I didn't realize how fast the barkeen could fly! That's almost sonic!"

Their pilot slid off the barkeen as well and moved to its head. There they proceeded to dig into a basket for some kind of fish to feed it, ignoring Jim and McCoy.

"C'mon, Bones! Let's see what else we can find to do!"

"I'm not sure I can let go!" McCoy said with a slightly embarrassed smile, realizing his hands were clenched so tightly on the bar he had trouble relaxing them enough to let go. He pulled his hands off and shook them to try to relax stiff fingers. Swinging his leg around, he slid off the saddle as Jim had.

Jim laughed, grabbing McCoy's arm to help steady him.

"We can find a place where we can let you recover.”

They waved their thanks to the pilot, and the Pattorite nodded back politely. As they passed the line of those waiting for rides, they tossed their goggles onto the table with the others.

_This is going to be a favorite, it seems. Already a lot more people in line than when we were waiting._

_I guess hitting these things early pays off._

The long pathway down to the town proper was shaded in various types of trees and plants that kept them out of the sun and cut down on the wind. McCoy knew that the wind would die down to practically nothing by the time they got to the first set of buildings. The wide stone steps were full of people, mostly those alien to the planet. Most were in groups, visiting and talking pleasantly, some clearly excited and on their way up to sample a barkeen ride themselves. With the medical convention due to start tomorrow, McCoy knew most of the visitors would be in the medical and research fields.

McCoy was actually glad for the warmth as they descended, not realizing how cold he'd gotten during the flight. Jim was happily reliving the flight verbally, talking with his hands about wind speeds, the inherent aileron in the barkeen's wings and body development, upflow of air and the jet-effect of a good, strong gorge wind. All terms McCoy had memorized once for a shuttle class and had mostly forgotten. McCoy let him run on, enjoying Jim's joyous enthusiasm. It wasn't until they were coming up on the tunnel opening to the town itself that Jim started to wind down.

"We have _got_ to do that again," Jim said happily, reaching out to tap McCoy's arm with the back of his hand. "I hear some barkeen riders can give much longer flights, for a bigger price, of course. It'd be _totally_ worth it! You did great, and didn't freak out once! Good practice."

"It wasn't _too_ bad," McCoy admitted with a grin as they entered the dim, open-ended tunnel. It was full of people going about their business. "At least I could undo my death grip. But riding something isn't the same as being on the edge of a cliff by my lonesome. I know I have a chance if I can hang on to someone else for dear life. When it's just me and a direct _drop_? Well... we did that once already. I think once was my limit on that."

"We'll try to keep you from a solo drop then," Jim said with a smile. "So, you're game to go again?"

McCoy nodded. "I think I could take it once more. But don't wait for me, Jim. You know this medical conference will be a smorgasbord of medical discoveries and possible advancements for Starfleet Medical. I'm going to be busy attending lectures, presentations, demonstrations, and--"

"And talking shop with everyone who's got an interesting idea or discovery. I know," Jim said with a shrug as they stepped out into one of the narrow pedestrian streets. "But if you get a chance--"

"I get a minute off, I'll let you know," McCoy promised. "I'm actually looking forward to a lot of the presentations. There's this one researcher, Doctor Bendout, that has been causing a lot of buzz. Trouble is that he won't say what it's about, just that it's going to be one of those 'shock and awe' moments in medical history. If I had a half-credit for every time some researcher thought they were changing the practice of medicine forever..."

"We'd be rich and living on Risa," Jim said with a laugh. "You'll have to let me know if he lives up to his boast or not."

Something caught McCoy's eye, and he glanced up. It was just a white moth of some kind, fluttering up ahead.

Jim must have noticed.

"You think she's still around?" Jim asked.

"Bell?" McCoy asked, already knowing who Jim was referring to. "No. Not really. I'm just used to looking for her. She's probably been an adult for weeks now. Time for her to move on."

"Maybe she'll come back to visit for your birthday, next month," Jim said with a smile.

"Yeah, sure," McCoy said, shaking his head with amusement. "I'll probably not hold my breath for that. Spock is probably more disappointed than I am. She never did give him any chance to study her."

"I do think she's caused him a lot of frustration," Jim said. "He was just making some headway on finding a way for the sensors to detect her when she quit coming around."

"She's better off in the wild anyway," McCoy admitted. "Where she should be."

There hadn't been a lot of sightings of Bell on the _Enterprise_ even when she was around, and then they'd tapered off into nothing. It'd been three weeks since they'd dropped off all the zoological specimens to the space station, and McCoy believed that Bell had followed them, rather than him.

He had to admit, he was disappointed. But this new assignment was keeping him busy, and not moping over it.

Around them now, the building style of the town was almost medieval in tone. None of the buildings were over two stories, many with second-floor balconies where natives and aliens sat to visit, relax or do business. There was greenery everywhere, they and the buildings giving a coolness and shade from the bright sun above.

The natives, and many of the aliens, humans included, strode around in the simple, oversized silk-shiny, thigh-length shirts, and loose pants. Some had crazy patterns, and others were more calm and cool looking pastels. The pants were so thin they almost floated when people walked. With the slight breeze, even when people were stationary they seemed to be swaying to some unheard music.

 _We could use a few sets of the native ware,_ McCoy thought. _Jim would look great in a blue to match his eyes. But not with too crazy a pattern._

The hair of the natives was done up in one of four styles. Otherwise, there were no other visible characteristics for other species to mark one of the three genders, and the immature age, from another. Although to Pattorite eyesight there were many signs.

Many wore hats with veils, to cover the Pattorite's sensitive skin from accidental over-exposure. Those that lived underground or cliffside tended to be more sensitive to the UV of their sun than others.

The street was abustle with species from all over going about their business.

"Where to next?" McCoy asked as they made their way down the shaded thoroughfare. "We need to get some native ware? To blend in?"

"They do look comfortable," Jim said. He pulled his comm out and checked it. "We're supposed to meet Spock and Uhura for dinner. We've got time to do some shopping."

"Clothes? More souvenirs to send home?" McCoy asked.

"I was mostly thinking of Peter, Robby, and Winona. For Christmas," Jim said with a smile.

"Winona?" McCoy asked. "She's not even born yet, Jim, and won't be for another three months. She won't even be a month old by Christmas, and Robby not even two by then. They won't have any idea of what we send them actually _is_."

"Yes," Jim admitted, "And Peter is ten in a couple of days. I know we chipped in with Sam and Aurelan to get Peter that kid's hover-cycle he wanted, but I want to get them something more personal for Christmas. _Think_ about it, Bones! Those kids have a ton of aunts and uncles on Aurelan's side, as well as cousins, who're with them _all the time_. If I have to spend half our pay to bribe our way into their hearts, I'm willing to do so."

McCoy smiled. "Jim, those kids will love you no matter what you do or don't send them."

"Never hurts to make sure," Jim said with a laugh. "Besides, gives us something else to window shop for. Finding the perfect gift is serious business."

"Just remember," McCoy said with an amused shake of his head, "they're baby _humans_ , so everything goes in the _mouth_ first. Watch out for anything toxic."

"That's why I have you with me," Jim said, clapping McCoy on the shoulder as they continued into the heart of the busy town. "My personal baby-toy tester. On call."

"Sometimes, I think that's what I should quit and do with my life," McCoy said jokingly. "Much less stress. You can quit and find a job testing out the suitability of alien toys for human infants. You're certainly immature enough."

"Oh, don't tempt me," Jim said with a chuckle. "And don't ever say that to anyone in Starfleet. They haven't yet realized that I'm really just faking this whole Mature-Captain thing."

Jim suddenly stopped and he grabbed McCoy's arm. He pointed down a side street.

"Hey, let's try that place first."

McCoy looked down the street. Half a block away a there was a crowd around the front of a store with many brightly colored flags waving above it. Many of them children, playing with what looked to be Pattorite toys in a sunny patch on the street. He could see the quick, darting movements of children at play, and barely hear some of the excited shrieks of laughter.

Before McCoy could say anything, Jim was already on his way, weaving a path through the foot traffic.

McCoy just smiled and followed, his eyes on Jim.

 _If we never have kids, I can't say I would have missed out on the entire experience,_ McCoy thought with amusement. _Sometimes, I think Jim Kirk is the biggest, oldest kid there ever was, with the whole universe as his Neverland. And it's my job to watch out for Captain Hook._

_I wonder if they have any good spyglasses for sale?_

 

***

 

 

Uhura stood in the center of the pedestrian street, her face up to the sun. Eyes closed, she basked in the heat, the ruffle of the wind in the trees and foliage, and the sounds of children playing here and there.

_Every time I'm planetside, I realize once again how much I miss a sun. A sun like Sol. The UV beds on the ship are never the same, and neither are the supplements and hypos we're given._

She felt warm and lazy in the small bit of sunlight that most Pattorites avoided. The vast majority of the population lived their lives underground, and with their white skin came the disadvantage of sunburn. And while they didn't seem to share her love of the direct light, they did have something in common. She adored their clothing.

The borri-silk tunic she wore was thin, soft and floated as she moved. Her unbound hair hung down her back, tendrils picked up by the small tufts of breeze that flowed lazily around the buildings. Lighter than a feather, she could almost imagine herself walking nude through the town market, and the thought made her smile.

 _I need more of these,_ she'd decided after the first hour off-duty and on land. _Just as well Spock is stuck on board. No use boring him with clothes shopping._

She glanced over at the clothing shop nearby. The front was open, and rods jutting out from the roof held rows of tunics, all fluttering and catching the light. Inside, where it was darker, were more rods of clothing displays. There were people inside, shopping.

In a town full of clothing stores, she hardly knew where to start.

 _Might as well start here,_ she decided happily. _I've got all day to work my way around the market. There are so many things I want to look at!_

Uhura walked up to the store and stopped for a moment, looking to see how everything was arranged. She had almost decided to start on the group of filmy blue outfits at the front when the creeping feeling of being watched caught her again. She had felt it not too long ago, and brushed it off. So many species were here that even she had to remind herself not to stare when seeing a new species for the first time. Seeing them on vids and databases was never the same. So much personality was lost in recordings. So how could she fault someone for watching _her_ a little too long? This time, it felt like whoever was watching her was close.

Taking a suit hanging near her, she examined it as she turned around, pretending to consider how the material moved.

Across the street, a humanoid in jeans, a blue shirt, and wearing a large black hat with a face-hiding veil was watching her. She could tell from his build he wasn't a Pattorite, although the hat with a sun blocking drape around the sides and back was native. The curtain kept his face in shadow, and fell across the top of his shoulders, making his build a bit uncertain. But it was clear that he was watching her.

Uhura casually turned back and placed the suit back with the others, keeping her side turned to the street so she could watch the stranger from her peripheral vision.

_What could he want? It's not like any of the crew to hold back like that if they wanted to talk to me. And I don't know anyone here. Well, I'm not going to let this go on any longer._

Uhura suddenly turned toward the street and started walking. Eyes on the stranger, she wove her way around the pedestrians to the other side of the street and straight for him.

The man had frozen at her sudden approach. Tall, his features hidden, Uhura got the feeling that she knew him from somewhere. So, she kept her face neutral as she strode up to him.

"Hello," Uhura said calmly, trying to see through the darkness of the hat and drape. Her eyes scanned him sharply. "Do we know each other?"

"No," the man said, his voice soft with amusement. The word wasn't quite said with an English or Standard accent. "But I'd like to get to know you a lot better!"

Just then, the man reached up to pull the covering back a bit, and Uhura startled.

Without even thinking about it, she lunged at the man, taking a fistful of his shirt with one hand, and pushed him up against the wall behind him. The move ended with her forearm against his neck and a death-grip on his shirt.

Several people around them stopped or turned to look, but Uhura ignored them.

"You are _not_ Doctor McCoy," Uhura said gravely as the startled man raised both hands in a placating gesture. She glared at him. "So, _don't_ lie to me. Who _are_ you?"

The man with McCoy's face smiled, amusement spilling out from all-too-familiar hazel eyes. He was older then Leonard McCoy, by a few years, but the resemblance was sending off all kinds of red-flags for her.

"Never said I was, M'dear," the man said, now grinning in earnest. "And you'll have to forgive my stalker approach. Should'a known better with a Starfleet crewman. But I just saw you by accident, and was debatin' with myself on how to best approach."

Since the man was offering no resistance and seemed amused by the situation, Uhura released her grip on him and stepped back. She didn't really want to draw too much attention from those who'd stopped to watch. But she stood at the ready, hands loose at her sides, in case he tried something funny.

The stranger pulled himself away from the wall and took the hat completely off. Uhura felt her eyes widen.

 _He looks just like him! Or the way he will look in fifteen years or so,_ Uhura thought with surprise, scanning every bit of his face and features.

He was the same height as Leonard, and Uhura could swear his eye color was an exact match. There were more lines to his face, crow's feet at the corner of his eyes, and his hairline looked to be the same. But this man was a lot greyer at the temples, with peppering here and there around the edges. Still, a man in the prime of his life, with half a century yet to go, the differences were small but telling.

"Who _are_ you?" Uhura asked sternly.

"Sorry to startle you, Lieutenant Uhura," He said, the amusement on his face letting Uhura relax a bit. "But I recognized you from Jim and Len's wedding vids. My name is John Grimm, and I'm a relative of Len's."

"John?" Uhura said, hand coming up to her mouth in consternation. "Len mentioned a John. Someone I hadn't met."

"That's probably me," John said agreeably. "Pleased to meet you. Any friends of Jim and Len's are family of mine."

She was debating with herself about believing him or not, and how she could be sure, when a white-haired man with a familiar face called from down the street.

"There you are!" David McCoy said loudly. "Thought I'd lost you, John. I--"

"David!" Uhura exclaimed, moving into his view and rushing toward him.

"Nyota!" David crowed happily with surprise, bringing his arms up for a hug.

Any doubts she might have had about John, and his real identity, disappeared. One long evening and one wedding day didn't sound like a lot of time, but Uhura had become very fond of her friend's father.

They hugged tightly.

"This is _great_ ," David said happily, pushing her back just far enough to get a good look at her. "Surprise! You met John, I take it?"

"Oh, yeah," John said with a chuckle. "Think I scared her a bit. Then she scared _me_ a bit."

"I am _so_ sorry," Uhura said, feeling ridiculous and very glad she hadn't been more forceful. At least their audience had moved on.

"Don't be," John said with an unconcerned wave. "I should have come right up and introduced myself."

"I didn't know you were all meeting here," Uhura admitted.

"Well, hard for you to know something Jim and Len don't," John said with a laugh. "This was a last-minute trip, and we didn't know the _Enterprise_ was anywhere near here. The three of us just got in."

"Three?" Uhura asked. She watched John closely, fascinated by the minute similarities to her friend.

"He's just the cab driver," David said, giving John a nod. "Sam and I wrangled last minute invites. Got a lot of new research we want to talk about, and touch base with some of the other researchers who're here."

"Oh! Jim and Len are going to be ecstatic," Uhura said, suddenly excited for her friends. "You say they don't know yet?"

"Not as far as we know," John admitted. "Saw you all in orbit. Hailed the ship and left the guys a message, but haven't heard back. Figured that meant they hadn't picked up their messages yet."

"They're off duty today," Uhura explained apologetically. "I'm sure they're sightseeing. The ship wouldn't contact them unless it was an emergency situation."

"Figured," John admitted with a shrug. "Didn't want to scare anybody by claiming that. Figured they'd get the message soon enough."

"When Spock sees it, he'll pass it along," Uhura said with certainty. "He'll know how important it is that you're here."

Uhura paused for a minute, then grinned at them slyly. "Unless... you want to _surprise_ them?"

John and David traded looks.

"Fine with me, if you've got an idea of how," David said with a smile.

"I'm game," John said. "We've got a few hours before Sam gets done with the registration process. What can we set up?"

"Let me talk with Spock. I may have an idea."

As she contacted the ship, she grinned evilly.

 

***

 

Jim Kirk walked carefully through the crowded street, trying not to bump anyone with his shopping bags. They didn't have many, but one was relatively large. Bones, carrying his share, was following close behind. They were at the outer circle of connected buildings that formed the town wall. A lot of the traffic was people coming to and from the landing field through the tunnel nearby.

As the sun was setting, natives and visitors alike were out for their evening meals and looking for that night's entertainment.

"Popular area," Bones said, keeping his voice low.

"We're on the landing field side of the town. Near the main tunnel," Jim said over his shoulder. "Most will probably sleep on their shuttles or ships, and this area caters to visitors and tourists. So, this area is probably the busiest after nightfall."

"Fallat's red-light district," Bones said. "I'm surprised Nyota wanted to meet here instead of that other place. She usually likes to find those quiet, native places that tourists always seem to miss."

"She said something about it being too crowded there. She was able to reserve a room in our names here," Jim said.

He tried looking over the crowd for the restaurant's sign. He was hoping to spot it rather than have to put his bags down and pull out his comm for directions.

"I just hope the food's good," Bones said with a sigh. "All this shopping has worn me out. We probably should have dropped this stuff off at our room."

"Nah," Jim said, eyes on the buildings in front of them. He saw a sign that looked like it had the right symbols in the Pattorite language. "This was closer. And we can just throw these in a corner while we eat. Besides, I think I've found it."

Jim changed course, careful of his bags, and started weaving a path between traffic toward the restaurant.

_This place is really packed. That medical convention has pulled people in from everywhere. I hope the natives were prepared for all of us._

_And that all my people are on their best behavior._

With the usual transport blockers in orbit, all ships coming in with passengers had to either land or send in shuttles. The airspace around Pattor had been almost as busy as Mars or Earth's. While flying over the area in one of the _Enterprise's_ shuttles, Jim had seen how full the landing space was. So, Jim had limited the _Enterprise_ to two shuttles on land at any given time as they ferried people from the ship down to the surface and back. Scotty had set up a schedule of shuttle arrival and departures for those from the ship. Jim had authorized some leeway in checking back in. If someone missed a shuttle back, or it was too full, and they had to wait, he didn't want to ruin anyone's time off by getting a black mark on their record for it.

So far, on the first full day of leave, it seemed to be working well. Many were able to plan more sightseeing, knowing that they could catch a ride back to the _Enterprise_ on the 24/7 schedule. Places to stay in Fallat itself had filled up fast. And while Jim and Bones had yet to see their room, deep underground with a canyon-side view, Jim had no doubt it would be fantastic.

At the price he'd had to pay for it, he really hoped it was.

It took a few minutes, but Jim finally managed to work their way through the crowd without any major collisions. The front of the restaurant was a maze-like pattern of old-fashioned clay bricks. The wooden double door was shaded by a blue tarp, its white fringe dancing in the evening breeze. The tinted windows hid the inside, promising a more private and restful dining experience. The waft of almost-recognizable smells made Jim's mouth start to water.

Lunch now seemed like a lifetime ago.

A Pattorite, clearly the doorman, held the door open for them, and Jim nodded their thanks. Inside, the warm clay and red-rock tones made the entry area feel comfortable and homey, along with the dim, but warm, lighting. There was a long bar off to the right, and a crowd of mostly non-natives crowded it. They were almost three deep at the far end. The hum of pleasant conversation and laughter filled the air.

Ahead of them, and to the left, were two open entries. One was large, and beyond it, Jim could see people eating at low tables and servers working their way around them. The sounds of soft conversation and eating came with even more tantalizing smells. Through the opening to the left, stairs to the second floor were visible. Both entrances were attended by restaurant employees.

"So, where are the reserved rooms?" Bones asked over Jim's shoulder. "Will they be ready? Are we late or early?"

"Probably upstairs," Jim said. "Better view of the ships on the landing port. And we should be right on time."

The Pattorite at the stairs was tall and of the tyreen gender, as signaled by the long braid down their back.

Jim and Bones walked up to them.

"Hello. We're Kirk and McCoy, and we have a private room reserved in our name," Jim said politely, with his best smile.

The Pattorite nodded politely and looked down at their PADD.

"Yes. I do see we have room four-A," the Pattorite said. "Kirk and McCoy."

"That's us," Bones said with a sigh. "Is the room ready?"

"Yes, the room is ready," the Pattorite replied. "But you may not pass. Only guests on our list may ascend to the private rooms."

"Oh, but it's _our_ room," Jim said politely. "It's in our name, so we won't need to be on a list."

"Did we have a list?" Bones asked over Jim's shoulder. "Isn't it just us, Spock, and Nyota?"

Jim shrugged as he turned slightly to Bones. "Last I knew. Maybe she invited someone else."

Jim turned back to the Pattorite, and set down his bags, moving to pull his comm out of a pocket.

"In any case, the room is in our name," Jim said patiently. "I can show you my ID--"

"That will not be necessary, welcomed guest," the Pattorite said pleasantly. "But I'm afraid that you may not pass. You are not on the list of those allowed attendance."

"Oh, great," Bones mumbled tiredly beside Jim. Bones placed his bags on the floor as well.

"Okay." Jim took a breath, centering himself for what may be a frustrating conversation. "I understand we may not be on the list, because the room is already reserved in our names."

"And because we didn't _have_ a list," Bones added.

Jim threw Bones his _'I **got** this'_ glance.

" _But_ ," Jim continued, "since the room is in our names, that _heads_ the list. So, technically, we _are_ on it."

"Normally, it would be so." The Pattorite nodded politely, but seemed unphased by Jim's logic. "If _you_ had reserved the room. _You_ have not. Kirk and McCoy _have_."

"Ooookay. I'm comming Nyota," Bones said with resignation as he pulled out his comm.

Jim didn't stop him but continued to concentrate on the Pattorite who guarded the entrance to the reserved rooms.

"We..." Jim waved a finger between him and Bones, " _are_ the Kirk and McCoy who reserved the room. A friend of ours reserved them for us. You may be confusing us with her?"

"She's not picking up," Bones said, leaning close to Jim, the comm at his ear. "Maybe she's already here."

Bones looked up at the guard. "Is a Nyota Uhura here yet?"

The Pattor consulted his PADD.

"Yes. She has arrived."

"Aye! Kaptain! Doktor!"

Jim turned and saw Chekov coming their way. He was dressed in some of his least flashy civilian clothing. He gave them a huge smile.

"Thank you for inviting me! I just got off duty. This planet looks very nice for some time off!"

"Oh, great!" Jim said with a smile. "Glad you could make it. We're just trying to get up to the room ourselves."

"Your name?" the guard asked Chekov.

"Pavel Chekov," he answered proudly.

The guard nodded. "You are on the list. You may go up to room Four-A."

Chekov, giving Jim and Bones a shrug, practically jogged up the stairs as the guard made a note on his PADD.

"So, we can go up now?" Jim asked hopefully.

"No. You are _not_ on the list."

"You've _got_ to be kidding me," Bones said with exasperation. "If _we_ reserved the room, we should be able to _get_ to it."

"You are _not_ on the list."

Jim rubbed at his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry. I think we may have a communication problem. Could I please talk to the manager?"

The guard stood up straight, then bowed. "I, gentlefolk, am the manager. How may I help you?"

Jim held back a wince and tried to ignore Bones's groan.

"I'm trying Uhura again," Bones said, comm back up to his ear. "I'll leave her a message this time."

"Hey, guys!"

Both Bones and Jim turned to see Sulu come from the bar area. "Didn't know you were here yet. Room ready?"

"To _some_ ," Bones muttered.

"Nice to see you," Jim said, giving Sulu a wry smile. "We're having a problem getting past security."

"You are? That's strange," Sulu said. He turned to the guard.

"I'm Hikaru Sulu. Am I allowed in?"

"You are on the list, welcomed guest! Please ascend to room Four-A."

"See you upstairs!" Sulu said, throwing them a smile as he turned toward the stairs and started up.

"Hikaru!" Jim yelled at Sulu's back. "If Nyota or Spock are up there, tell them we're _stuck_ down here."

"Will do!" Sulu said, his voice echoing down the stairwell.

"Left her a quick voice message," Bones said over Jim's shoulder. "Still didn't pick up. I sent her a text message as well."

Jim turned back to the manager. "May I have your name, gentlefolk?"

"I am Manakar," they said with a smile. "And I welcome you to my establishment. I hope you enjoy the experience."

"Not so far," Bones mumbled under his breath.

Jim just nodded at Manakar, ignoring Bones.

"I'm sure we will," Jim said, working to keep his voice light and casual. "Eventually. Right now, we seem to have an identity problem."

"There is no problem," Manakar said, just as casually. "You are not--"

"On the list. Yes. Apparently," Jim admitted. "But if we can get the lady who made the reservation in our name, the one who _made_ the list, come down to _vouch_ for us--"

" _Lady_? You refer to a human female?" Manakar asked with a frown. "I'm afraid you misunderstand. I believe the reservation was made by two human males. _Kirk_ and _McCoy_."

" _Oh_ , this is getting even _better_ ," Bones said with a resigned sigh. "I think I need a seat at the bar."

"Just... just give me a minute," Jim told him.

 _I'm not sure where to go from here,_ Jim thought to himself. _Maybe if I start at the beginning, I can see where they're misunderstanding. Maybe Nyota will be down in a second and save us both if I stall long enough._

"Manakar," Jim said with a slight head bow. "May I ask? You took the reservation over the comm?"

"No," Manakar said, giving mixed signals by nodding his head with a smile. "The reservation was made in person. Our best room! There is a buffet that will amaze as well as satisfy, along with an alcohol selection that will soothe and relax!"

"Sounds _great_ ," Jim admitted. "Really _great_ \--"

"Especially the _bar_ part," Bones added with a yearning, tired tone.

"--but Doctor McCoy and I did not make the reservations _ourselves_ ," Jim continued, still ignoring his husband. "Our friend made it _for_ us. Are you sure it wasn't a human female you spoke to?"

Manakar seemed to consider that for a moment. "I believe I am sure that the two were human. I believe I am less sure that they were male. I'm not sure I completely understand human genders."

"Ah," Bones said, suddenly excited. "Was one a Vulcan? A smaller human, with long, black hair, with a Vulcan?"

Manakar considered that again.

"One was not a Vulcan. Their ears looked human-shaped."

Bones leaned closer to Jim, and whispered. "Who else would make reservations in our names? The only ones I know who'd feel free to do that are already upstairs!"

"I'm beginning to think they're going to have to send down a rescue team," Jim whispered back with a sigh. "Maybe with phasers."

Jim turned back to Manakar.

"Okay. _Two_ human males made reservations in our names."

" _Their_ names," Manakar said with certainty. "They showed me identification when they gave their deposit for the amenities."

"They showed you identification that said _Kirk_ and _McCoy_?" Jim asked with surprise. "And they paid a _deposit_?"

_Someone passing themselves off as us? This just got a lot more serious!_

"Yes. And yes."

"And they left a list of people who could attend?" Jim asked.

"Yes," Manakar said. "They were very specific that this would be a _private_ gathering. Those on the list only."

"Can I see this list?" Jim asked.

_How far does this go? Is someone trying to get us all in one spot? That could be dangerous!_

Manakar nodded happily. "No."

" _Drink_ ," Bones said tiredly. "I'm going to get a _drink_. Let me know when we break through to the treasure room."

"Wait," Jim said, taking Bones's arm so he really wouldn't leave Jim alone. "Just give me--"

"A minute," Bones said with resignation. "I _know_."

"Manakar," Jim said, keeping his voice level, but trying to convey his concern. "There is something very wrong here. I am Captain James T. Kirk, and my ship is the _Enterprise_. This is my Chief Medical Officer, and husband, Doctor Leonard McCoy. If someone is going around using our identities, this could be _very_ serious. I need for you to contact one of those guests upstairs and ask them to come down. Then we need to find--"

"Oh," Manakar interrupted brightly, as if they suddenly realized what the problem was. "You are confused. You are not the _right_ Kirk. He is the right McCoy, being a _doctor_ , except that he's not the right McCoy who has paid the deposit."

" _I'm_ not?" Jim asked. " _He's_ not?"

"No. A _Doctor_ Kirk and a _Doctor_ McCoy have reserved the room."

"A _Doctor_ Kirk?" Jim asked. Feeling even more confused.

"Well, if someone's pretending to be you, they're not doing it right," Bones said to Jim, sounding just as confused as Jim felt.

A familiar voice boomed from behind Jim and Bones both.

"Well, if you want an invite, maybe I can help!"

Spinning, Jim and Bones both looked for the owner of that voice. Behind them, walking out of the crowd around the bar, was John Grimm, a huge grin on his amused face.

"John!" both Jim and Bones exclaimed at once.

They both strode over to John. Jim getting to him first, and giving him a hug as both laughed. Then Bone took his turn, pounding hard on John's back.

" _What_ are you doing here?" Jim asked happily.

"Are _you_ responsible for this mess?" Bones accused with a wry smile.

"What? You think I'd do something like that to you two?" Grimm asked with an evil grin. He grabbed at Jim's arm and gave Bones a push toward the stairs. "C'mon, let's get you two upstairs, and see if we can figure this out."

Both Jim and Bones let John lead them over, grabbing at their dropped packages as they passed them.

"Manakar?" John said with a slight bow. "You've done very well. I hope my tip was adequate to the task."

Manakar smiled and bowed at John. "I am at your disposal. Please enjoy your evening."

Jim watched, open-mouthed, as Manakar walked away from the entrance to the stairs.

"What happened to the list?" Jim asked in confusion.

"What list?" John asked, trying to look innocent. "They don't _guard_ the reserved rooms. Doesn't the manager have better things to do?"

"You set us up!" Jim accused with amused surprise.

"You old bastard, I should have _known_ we were being played," Bones said with a chuckle as they both followed John up the stairs.

"Not _my_ doing," John said, starting upward. After a few steps, his voice filled the stairwell. "Well, _some_ of it was."

"You got the manager to lie?" Bones asked, taking up the rear. "That must'a cost someone some credits."

"He _didn't_ lie.... totally," John said stepping up onto the second-floor landing. He continued down the hallway, to a door at the center. "Just about the list, really. And guarding the stairs. Although we really gave him a list to work from. Kirk and McCoy _did_ reserve the room, and put down the deposit. It just wasn't you two."

 _What other-- Oh, man!_ Jim thought as the truth hit him.

"You don't mean--!"

"They're _here_?" Bones asked at the same time.

John stepped up to a door, and it slid open revealing what looked more like a hotel suite. Both Jim and Bones stopped in surprise. Along with a grinning Uhura, a smug looking Spock, and an amused Scotty, Sulu and Chekov, was Sam Kirk and David McCoy. Both looking like they'd been laughing.

"Sam!"

"Pa!"

Sam, smiling wildly, strode up to meet Jim with a hug.

"Jim! What took you so long?"

"You _ass_! I should have known that if John were here, you two couldn't be far behind," Jim said into Sam's shoulder as they hugged.

Jim finished the hug to grab at Sam's shoulders.

" _Doctor_ Kirk!" Jim gave Sam a friendly shake. "You finished your doctorate, didn't you! I _knew_ you were close! What are you doing here? Wait. You're here for the medical conference."

"Last minute trip," Sam said happily.

"Aurelan and the kids?" Bones asked hopefully.

"Aurelan didn't want to travel in her condition," Sam said. He looked a bit disappointed himself. "But she and the kids send their love."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Jim asked. "We could've gotten a suite at the hotel."

" _Everything_ was last minute," David admitted, coming up to Jim with his arms out.

Jim hugged David tightly, seeing that Sam and Bones were doing the same.

"Didn't realize the _Enterprise_ was anywhere near," John said. "I thought you guys were hanging out parsecs from here. These two are two of our best researchers. So, I volunteered to take them in my new ship, and keep 'em safe. Otherwise, they'd have missed half the conference by the time they could arrange other transport."

"This is great!" Jim said happily. "When did you all get in?"

"Just a few hours ago," John said with a laugh.

"We ran into each other at the market," Uhura said, looking beautiful in her cream-colored Pattorite outfit. She had a glass of something bubbly in her hand and was smiling evilly. "It was a true conspiracy. Surprise!"

Jim laughed, and glanced over at Chekov and Sulu, who also had drinks and were grinning.

"And you all knew," Jim accused.

"Only for a few minutes," Sulu said with a chuckle. "Mr. Grimm caught us on the way in, and told us what was going on."

"You too, Spock?" Jim asked with a pretend scowl at Spock, who was standing to the side, eyeing John with what Jim recognized as a look of suspicious fascination.

"My part was simply to make sure the room was ready," Spock said.

"You mean, they didn't trust you to lie," Bones said with a teasing glare, drawing Spock's eyes away from John.

"A trait that humans are far more proficient at than most other species," Spock said, just the hint of amusement touching his eyes.

"It was wery strange," Chekov admitted. "Nyota said that a John Grimm would meet us right outside, and let us know how to act. That we would know him, because he looks very much like our Doktor McCoy."

"That's an understatement," Scotty said with a shake of his head. "It was deja vu, in a very weird way."

"You mean, that _he_ looks like _me_ ," John said with a chuckle as he headed toward the bar. Waving Jim and Bones over to join him. "I'm older, so get first dibs at this patented look. From now on, anyone else wearing my face has to pay me royalties."

"I wear it better," Bones said with a huff as he headed to the bar with John. "I need a stiff one after that mess downstairs. At least you all missed out on seeing us both flustered."

"Oh, no we didn't," David said happily, pointing to a wall screen. "I have to say my son-in-law has some very good diplomatic skills."

"You didn't!" Jim said with a wince.

"Afraid so, little brother," Sam said, putting his arm around Jim's shoulders. "C'mon, you're a drink behind."

Jim could only shake his head in disbelief as he and Sam joined John and Bones at the bar.

"Won't be for long," Jim said, making Sam chuckle. Jim nudged him. "Just let me get started, and I'll leave you all in the dust."

A happy hour later, Jim found himself filling his plate from the buffet. It all looked good, and smelled great, even if a bit unusual. Everyone was getting another round of drinks and filling their plates. There were no real tables, but plenty of places to sit among the more human-style furniture. Beside him, Sam was looking over the various choices, seemingly unsure.

"Best bet," Jim leaned close to whisper to him, "is to avoid the meat if you're unsure of the animal, and take tiny bits of everything else."

"Good idea," Sam said with a grateful smile. "I'm afraid I'm not really all that adventurous with food I don't know."

"Even when you left Earth the first time?" Jim asked, feeling strange that he didn't know that about his brother.

Sam started putting tiny amounts of food on his plate. He shrugged.

"I branched out a bit at college. Had to, eating at the cafeteria all the time. Their Terran produce was limited. Aurelan is a lot more adventurous and got me to branch out to the local dishes. After we started dating, she cooked me Denevian dishes. Mostly, before her, I just ate a lot of what I was familiar with. I like cooking, I just didn't know what to do with any of the stuff we didn't grow up around."

Now, at the end of the buffet, Jim and Sam turned to look over the sitting area. Everyone was finding someone to visit with, and Jim found he wanted to spend a bit of time with Sam, alone.

Sam must have been feeling the same way.

"There's a couple of chairs over by the windows," Sam said, nodding in their direction. The two chairs were off a bit from the other groupings.

"I'm game," Jim said with a smile.

They both settled into the seats, placing their plates and drinks on the wide, solid wood armrests.

"How are Aurelan and the kids?" Jim asked. "They really okay?"

"Oh, they're fine," Sam said with a proud smile. "I would have been okay with Aurelan and the kids coming along. But like she reminded me, I'd be at the conference most days, and she'd be alone with the kids. She said she'd rather stay home and let her family pamper her."

Sam laughed. "She's staying with her parents, and she'll have all her brothers and sisters, and their spouses, to babysit and hang around with. Otherwise, she and the baby are doing really well. Robby is getting big now, walking and babbling up a storm. Peter is doing great at school, and we celebrated his birthday before I left."

"How'd the hovercycle go over?"

"Oh, he _loves_ it," Sam said with a wry smile. "And I'm trying not to feel like a heel for not being there on the day. Aurelan said that it's fine, and Peter's just as happy to have it a week early, but still..."

Jim knew what Sam was saying. Between the two of them, there were maybe a handful of times their mother made contact with them on the day. Or even during that week. Usually, even their gifts came as an afterthought. Jim suspected that Frank didn't put much into their gift choices, when their mother left him to do it.

"He _knows_ you love him," Jim said softly. "That's what he really wants. To really _know_ that. And he _does_. I'm sure of that."

Sam's smile disappeared. He looked at Jim and nodded. "I hope so. I still wish I could have let _you_ know that--"

" _Don't_ , Sam," Jim said gently. "If you could have, you would have. Same here. We have each other now, and that's what counts."

Sam started picking at the food on his plate, his eyes on his fork.

"Jim, I was thinking... David knows as much about our research as I do. He knows what we're interested in, and can ask the right questions. He's volunteered to attend by himself, if you... if you think you could take a couple of days off? We could spend the time, just the two of us, sightseeing and--"

"Are you kidding?" Jim said, excitement at the idea flooding him. "That would be _fantastic_! Bones is going to be busy for most of the next week, and I can take three or four days off, for sure. We can hang around and visit all the tourist traps!"

"All right!" Sam said, looking much happier. "I'll let David know. Starting tomorrow? We'll be sleeping on John's ship, so if you're coming and going by shuttle you may end up walking right by us."

"I'll message you tomorrow, first thing," Jim promised. "Bones and I are staying planet-side tonight, so we can meet for breakfast. There are a _ton_ of things we can do. Bones and I rode a barkeen this morning. There are barkeen tours we can take, longer flights. There's the underground produce farms, the canyon boats, walking routes over the bridges, with audio guides. I've heard of a wildlife refuge about 300 klicks away. For a day trip, we can get to the other side of this landmass, and canoe or raft the river on that side. It's a lot less turbulent. There's--"

" _Whoa!"_ Sam laughed. "I should have known you'd have done your homework. Tell you what. I'll check with David about the days he can cover for both of us. He's gotten a good look at the itinerary. I'll message you the days I can take off as soon as we get back to John's ship. I'll put my life in your hands, and let you pick the activities."

"My treat," Jim said happily.

"No, I can--"

"Let _me_ ," Jim insisted. "I can pull some ' _Captain_ ' strings once in a while, and get better times and tickets. I set them up, and you pay for the meals and supplies if we need any."

"Deal," Sam agreed.

"Sure you trust me that much?" Jim asked with an evil smile. "Bones says I spend all my time planning on how to scare him to death on our vacations. And I have no incentive to do any less since he's yet to refuse to do anything I've picked out."

Sam laughed. "If Len can brave through your idea of a good time, I'm willing to give it a shot."

"It'll be so much _fun_ ," Jim said happily. "You'll see!"

 

***

 

 

Leonard McCoy stood at the large, glass windows in the restaurant's private room, looking out through the darkness to the landing field beyond. The room lighting was low, fitting for the evening. McCoy could see the reflections of all their family and friends in the old-fashioned glass.

 _Those two are circling each other like prizefighters ready for the final match,_ McCoy thought with a little trepidation and a lot more amusement. _Both John and Spock are good at keeping secrets. I think they're going to drive each other crazy, trying to figure out what's odd about the other's situation._

Everyone had taken turns visiting with different groups. Some talking about family, some shop, and some about their plans for their time off. Scotty seemed really enthused to meet everyone, being one of the two in the room who hadn't been able to attend Jim and McCoy's wedding. McCoy did miss seeing Aurelan and the kids, but this was a really nice bonus to their trip.

And through all their small conversations, McCoy had noticed one thing. John and Spock, the two who had the deepest, darkest secrets in the room that McCoy was aware of, had been sneaking peeks at each other.

_I'd mentioned John to Nyota a while back, and told her that I had a relative who looked a lot like me. But I don't think any of us ever told Spock much about him, other than a mention in passing. And John met Ambassador Spock on New Vulcan. He would have seen the two together on our wedding vids. But John and Spock are both super smart, and quick to pick up anything unusual. This is their first meeting, and they're probably giving each other the willies._

Behind him, his father had paired off with Uhura, talking animatedly about something McCoy couldn't hear. Jim, Scotty and Spock were talking shop, as far as McCoy could tell. John, Sam, Chekov and Sulu had been discussing the design of John's new ship, the _Reboot_ , the last time McCoy had passed them.

McCoy saw Jim glance at him, say something to Scotty and Spock, then walk up behind him, drink in hand.

"You're awfully quiet," Jim said coming up to put an arm around McCoy's waist. Jim leaned into him. "Don't tell me that the ship's coming and going outside are all that fascinating."

"It _is_ kinda pretty. All the ship lights blinking, and the running lights making a show as they come in and out," McCoy admitted.

And it was. Pattor had a thin ring, and a couple of bigger not-quite-moons over-head that didn't do much to cut the darkness. The running lights from hundreds of ships on the ground and in the air were like colored Christmas lights once they got up high enough that the night lights for pedestrians and vehicular traffic weren't an issue.

"You're really okay with Sam and I taking off to see the sights for a few days?"

McCoy turned and gave Jim a smile. "Of course I am. I'll be busy, and you have playtime off. Go play."

McCoy leaned in closer.

"Mainly," McCoy whispered, "I've been standing here watching our two big, earth-shattering secrets tip-toe around each other."

"Yeah," Jim said with an amused huff. "Spock and John. I noticed that myself. Spock doesn't know about John, and John never learned who Ambassador Spock really is. With John looking so much like you, Spock's radar is up. John met Ambassador Spock on Vulcan, and another Spock in our midst is like a magnet for him."

McCoy sighed. "I hate keeping secrets. It just makes things so complicated."

Jim took another sip from his glass. "You're telling me? That's why I drink."

As they watched, John said something to Sulu and Sam and walked away. Then, like a magnet to a metal, John strode in Spock and Scotty's direction. McCoy knew from the look on John's face he was going to be asking questions.

"I've _got_ to hear this," McCoy said to Jim.

"Me, too," Jim admitted, pulling back his arm as they both turned to walk to the group.

They only caught the tail end of what Scotty was saying.

"...don't think that we're going to learn much, technology-wise, from the Asternans," Scotty was saying to Spock. "Their warp technology may have gotten them First Contact, but they have some very strange ideas about where to go from there."

"It may be true," Spock counter-argued, "that the Asternan's direction of research in that area may produce the same negative results as ours. But it may be that our thinking is becoming too narrow, and species bound, in those scientific fields. The Asternans may bring in new ideas that will open new avenues of exploration."

"Aye, that's true," Scotty said, pursing his lips in thought. "We can always hope. I _love_ surprise breakthroughs. We could use one in the warp sciences."

Scotty then noticed Jim and McCoy joining them and smiled.

"Thank ye both for the invitation! Seein' this bonnie planet up close has given me somethin' to look forward to, when my days off come up. And delighted to meet your family."

"You're very welcome, Scotty, but I think you have Uhura and John here to thank," Jim said, raising his glass to John, who was just joining them. "I have a feeling I know who's already taken care of the bill for tonight. At least, that's what the wait staff has told me."

"I would extend my appreciation as well," Spock said, studying John closely.

"My pleasure," John said to Scotty and Spock. "I've wanted to meet you all for quite a while. I've seen Jim and Len's wedding vids. If you're good enough to be at their wedding, then you're all family of mine."

"Scotty?" Uhura called from the other side of the room, where she and David were talking. "David has some questions for you about some tweaks you promised him?"

"I'm your man!" Scotty said happily as he held up his empty glass. "Especially since you're so close to the bar. Excuse me, gentlemen."

"No problem, Scotty," Jim said as Scotty headed toward the other group.

"May I ask your profession?" Spock asked John, now that it was just the four of them.

McCoy almost held his breath, waiting to see how John answered him. Besides his hidden history, McCoy didn't know how much of his current job John felt comfortable revealing. McCoy could tell Jim was listening closely for the same reasons.

 _They both have their own secrets, to tell or keep,_ McCoy thought. _All we can do is try to respect those secrets. This'll be interesting, though. Neither one of these two give up easily when they're curious._

"Security," John said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Computer security, planet-wide. For Deneva."

"He's a genius at it," Jim said with a smile. "Deneva is lucky to have him."

Spock's eyebrow rose.

"You have extensive computer training?" Spock asked.

"Self-taught, mostly," John said casually. "I recently took the tests for Federation Classification, and now hold an A-9 level Computer Expert certificate."

McCoy held back a chuckle when both of Spock's eyebrows rose to his hairline.

"I, myself, hold an A-7 certificate," Spock admitted.

 _So, now John's extra fascinating,_ McCoy thought with amusement. _Spock's always drawn to those he can talk shop with. Especially if he thinks he can learn some new skills from them, computer-wise. He's like a sponge, that way._

"You must have extensive experience, to be self-taught," Spock continued. "A level A-9 is a great accomplishment. Have you always been in the security field?"

"In one form or another," John said with a wry grin. "Either building up defenses or breaking through them."

"Indeed," Spock said, looking surprised at the admission.

"Oh, sure," John said. "Most times you can tell more about a new system while trying to break in, than when you're trying to build it up. Some of my best tricks I learned while on the dark side. Of course, most of my past is classified now."

"I _see_ ," Spock said, trying very hard not to look like he was dying to know more.

"You ought to come down for a visit, next time you all get a chance," John told Spock. "I've got a home system you might want to get a gander at. I'd love to see you try to hack your way in, if you can. It was created by some of the top computer specialists on New Vulcan. Which leads me to ask, are you related to _Ambassador_ Spock? I met him, several months ago."

"You have met the Ambassador?" Spock asked, carefully schooling his face. McCoy could tell he was surprised. Access to Ambassador Spock was tightly restricted. "We are related. In a way. You may say the relationship is very _complicated_."

 _No shit,_ McCoy thought. _I know John and Ambassador Spock spent some time together when the rest of us were getting John's cure ready to go. They're actually pretty close in age. Since Ambassador Spock knows John's real identity, those must have been some really heavy conversations. What did I miss out on?_

"Complicated? Yeah. I got one of those myself, with Len here," John said, looking at Spock speculatively. "But I have to say you really remind me of the Ambassador. Quite a _lot,_ actually. Nice guy. Sneaky sense of humor, when you catch him at the right time."

"Really?" Spock said, looking surprised.

"Oh, yeah," John said with a wry smile. "We got along really well, for what time we had to shoot the breeze. My new computer is based on a lot of his work, behind the scenes, I'm told. I'm using a lot of his designs, with his permission, for some of Deneva's new security systems. It'll take a while, like any major, world-changing upgrade does. But when I'm done, Deneva's computer defense systems are going to rival both Earth's and New Vulcan's."

"Always good to hear," Jim said. "Everyone's poking around for everyone else's weaknesses. I just wish more planets took their personal defense that seriously."

"Starfleet can't be everywhere," McCoy added grimly.

"Gotta protect the family. And the invitation stands," John said to Spock with an evil grin. "You come by _anytime_ , and I'll give you the tour only family get. Let you handle my _goodies_ all you want."

McCoy, taking a sip of his drink, almost choked on it. Out of the corner of his eye, McCoy saw Jim stifle a laugh.

Spock nodded gravely, apparently ignoring, or not catching, the slight innuendo. "I am greatly honored."

"Don't have to be," John said with a shrug. "Just don't be a stranger."

With that, the room lights flickered. John shot down the remainder of his drink.

"Time for goodbye's," John announced, getting everyone's attention. "The establishment wants their room back. Restaurants close fairly early here, but not the bars, shops, some cafe's or other entertainment venues. So, you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here."

"Just as well," Jim said as the three of them followed John back to the bar to drop off their glasses. "Bones and I need to check into our room. He and David have that conference to get started tomorrow."

"Which reminds me," McCoy said, turning to his father. "Pa? It starts at 9 a.m. standard time. Want to meet for breakfast somewhere before we hit the convention center?"

"Sounds good to me," David said, joining them. "Let me know about 6 a.m. or so where you want to meet. Plenty of places around the center to grab a bite, or you can come to John's ship. The _Reboot_ has a nice kitchen."

"David? Sam?" Nyota said, joining them at the door. "It was so good to see you both again!"

"You can pull me away from work, anytime," David told her with a smile.

"You're always welcome at my house," Sam added. "I know Peter and Aurelan would love to see you all again."

"And I'll comm you tomorrow morning," Jim said to Sam, looking excited. "We can catch breakfast out as well, and go through all the tourist center information. Pick out something exciting and deadly to do."

"Take that as your final warning, Sam," McCoy added with a shake of his head. "Don't fall off of any roofs while you're at it."

"You don't have to warn me twice," Sam said with a chuckle. "But I have a feeling I have less control over him now, than when he was little. And I didn't have much control over him _then_!"

"You just wait," Jim said with a laugh. "We'll see who gets to be the boss now!"

The rest of them all said their goodbyes as they walked down the steps and outside, to the clear, night air. McCoy and Jim once again loaded with their shopping bags.

Scotty, Sulu, and Chekov hung together, making plans to explore Pattor's nightlife, then heading back to the ship to sleep. Spock and Nyota strode off together, already having planned the rest of their evening. Sam, David, and John headed back to John's new ship, the _Reboot._ McCoy and Jim, with their shopping bags in hand, walked part of the way to the tunnel to the landing field with them. The crowds at this time of night were mostly alien to Pattor, and were from dozens of different worlds. They had to walk around more than a few groups.

"Jim? You and Len make some time to see my new ship, the _Reboot_ ," John said. "She's a _beauty_. All the latest, and the best! I've promised your Chekov, Scotty, and Sulu a tour. Gonna get Spock on there as well. Make him drool."

" _Reboot_ , John?" Jim asked with amusement. "And you know we wouldn't miss it."

"I'm _here_ , I'm _alive_ , and I'm _kicking_ ," John said with a grin. "All systems updated and running on _full_ power. Done a full reboot, I'm in the mood to get some shit _done_!"

"Amen to that," David said with a laugh as they all came to the point where their paths parted.

As the three of them turned to walk away, David turned to call over his shoulder. "Don't forget to message me _early_ , Leonard. Want to get some good seats for breakfast before half of Fallat is up and discovers they're hungry."

"Set my alarm, Pa," McCoy promised with a wave.

"Rest up, _Doctor_ Kirk!" Jim called to Sam. "You're going to _need_ it for tomorrow."

"I hear that!" Sam said with a smile and a parting wave as the three headed into the tunnel. "I'll make sure my life insurance is paid up. Now that I have a fancy title, I'm probably worth more!"

Jim and McCoy stood and watch the three disappear into the crowd heading out to the landing field.

"That was the _best_ surprise," McCoy said, nudging Jim with an elbow. "You two are going to have a _great_ time."

"I sure hope so," Jim said, eyes still on the tunnel. Then he turned to look at McCoy, an evil smile growing on his face. "And we still have most of the night, to check out our hotel room. Gonna have to break it in, the right way."

"Lead on, _Captain_ ," McCoy replied with a leer of his own.

 

 

***

 

 

McCoy and Jim wove their way across and down several streets, trying not to bump anyone with their bags. Hours after sunset, the air was clear and cool, and the soft glow of lights from the buildings around them lit the pedestrian-only streets with a soft, golden light. Here and there were clusters of multi-colored lights, over and around various doors, inviting customers inside for music, food, and entertainment.

The whole town seemed to be in a festival mood. Those walking by, of all species, were smiling, laughing, or waving limbs or appendages in ways that translated to the same thing. There was slow, sweet music coming from some of the public, open areas.

Music that would be wonderful to slow dance to.

_Is it like this all the time? Or just for the convention attendees?_

_Maybe we'll be able to hit a lot of these places. If I can keep from getting dragged into too many networking parties every night._

_At least I'll have Pa with me. I won't be alone all day._

He followed Jim, hanging back just enough to enjoy watching Jim's backside as he walked.

He loved it when Jim wore that pair of old, broken in jeans.

It hugged those solid, muscular hunks of flesh like a second skin.

And it could make McCoy's jeans seem two sizes too tight.

Just as he was contemplating things he'd like to do to that backside, Jim stopped and turned around.

"Are you watching my ass?" Jim asked with a lecherous smile.

"Darlin'," McCoy said with a matching one in return, "I'd have to be completely blind, to not want to watch that ass of yours."

"Good," Jim said, "because we're at the hotel. Time to get our money's worth out of our room."

Jim nodded toward the building in front of them. McCoy looked it over.

"Well, it's... cozy," McCoy said. He wouldn't have guessed it was a high-priced hotel. It looked more like someone's home. "Are you sure you're reading that sign right?"

"Remember, most of their town is underground," Jim said. "Only one way to find out how well I can read Pattorite."

McCoy followed Jim uncertainly through the front door. It really did look like someone's living room, and there was a party in progress. There was a tall, narrow table to the left, where people were standing around and talking. Several people were sitting in large couches, holding drinks and talking in an area to the right. A few looked at them as they came in, then went back to their conversations.

Inside, an elder Pattorite came up to them. Their hair was braided in two braids.

"I am Tetamire. Welcome to our hospitality accommodations. You are?"

"We're Kirk and McCoy, we have a reservation."

"Just one moment, please." Tetamire turned to a wall screen and punched in some information.

"Deja vu," McCoy said under his breath.

Jim gave him a mischievous wink.

"Ah, you have our best room!" Tetamire said pleasantly. "It is ready for you. Would you like to use the elevator, or take the stairs?"

"How many floors down are we going?" McCoy asked.

"Oh, you have a canyon view! But we are very close to the canyon itself, so that is only thirty-two levels down."

McCoy looked over at Jim. " _Only_ thirty-two?"

"Elevator," Jim said quickly. "Please."

"This way, please."

They followed Tetamire passed one door and to another. Behind the wooden door was a bright, shiny, modern multi-directional lift. Tetamire handed Jim a card.

"The written room designations are in our language. Please match the symbols on the door panel to this card. Touch this card to it. Enjoy."

Jim thanked them, taking the card. The elevator wasn't very big, and McCoy was glad it was just the two of them.

The trip was quick, and it didn't take long for McCoy to realize that there were no anti-grav dampeners on it. His stomach had rolled a bit on the way down.

"Thirty-two floors down!" McCoy said following Jim along the nondescript, beige hallway. "I hope there's not a lot of traffic for that elevator tomorrow. I climb that many floors up, I'm not going to be making many more stair trips during the conference. I've heard that place has more levels than some skyscrapers!"

"Good aerobics," Jim said with a laugh, finding their door. "Just think about all the great exercise you'll be getting between all those sit-on-your-ass presentations."

Opening the door and walking in wasn't _like_ walking into a cave. It _was_ walking into a cave.

The room was long, with walls of stone in various layers and thicknesses from the door to an opening to the outside. The walls were rough and rounded, with edges and angles that mimicked naturally worn areas. Most of the colors were copper, clay, or dark russet. While not ground smooth, the whole area had the semi-shine that reminded McCoy of unpolished marble, or perpetually damp rock.

On the ceiling, the lights weren't recessed, but contained in small brown boxes that were placed in a not-too-straight line from the door to the lopsided, oval opening to the darkness outside. It looked like someone had just stuck them in place when coming in to explore a natural cave.

The opening was just that. The canyon and river were just behind a sheer slice of curtain that moved in a wisp of a breeze. To the left, there was a large ledge of rock that had been cut at table height. It didn't sit on the floor, but had been cut from the surrounding rock. On top were their bags, which Jim had sent down earlier in the morning.

On the far side of the ledge, further into the room, was a small stream of water from high up on the wall. The flow, about the width of McCoy's wrist, was forced out about half a meter from the wall. It splashed into a sunken area of the floor, then flowed away to disappear into a crack in the rock. The sound of water hitting stone filled the room, echoing like rain.

On the right, on the wall with the entry door was a comm panel camouflaged to blend into the wall. There was a lower ledge that ran half the length of the room.

And just where it ended was the largest bed McCoy had ever seen.

It filled half the room and came right up to the opening and the gauzy drape. McCoy estimated it was the same size as six of their larger beds on the ship. But it was all one piece, covered in copper colored sheets and an unholy number of pillows of all shapes and sizes.

It didn't even sit on the floor, but was in a sunken pit deep enough to have the top of the mattress sit flush with the floor.

_Makes sense, I guess, when a family parental unit consists of three full-sized Pattorite adults. Need room for all the kid snuggles you get at night when every pregnancy consists of triplets. One of each gender. That's a real family bed!_

"Will you look at this place?" Jim said, eyes wide as he set his packages down on the larger ledge, next to their bags.

"And the bed!" McCoy added, doing the same. "It's huge!"

"Look at the shower! Our own waterfall!"

Jim jogged up to the stream of water and put his hand into it.

"It's warm!"

Just as McCoy was about to ask where the bathroom was. Jim leaned over the ledge and touched a few spots on the top. With the sound of stone grating on stone, the top slid to the side and what appeared to be a small, low basin was revealed in the floor. A constant stream of water flowed from the top edges and down to the large hole in the center. Behind that was a drawer-like space with towels and various jars of what could be soaps or lotions. All of which had been hidden under a facade of rock.

"Toilet!" Jim announced.

"You sure?" McCoy asked leaning over his shoulder.

"Did my homework," Jim said smugly. Jim grabbed McCoy's arm. "Let's look at the view!"

They toed off their shoes to keep from soiling the sheets, as the only way to get to the opening to the outside was to walk across the bed. McCoy saw that there was some kind of panel, recessed into the wall.

_In case we want to close the opening? Will we need to?_

McCoy expected it to be dark outside. The lower levels of the canyon were dark during the day, the hours of sunlight they would get limited by the height of the canyon walls. During their barkeen ride, he'd noticed most windows had been set back deeply and hidden in the shade.

And it _was_ dark, but as they walked out to a ledge that had no railing, it was like walking into space.

"Lights off!" Jim ordered.

Suddenly they were surrounded by a starburst of color. The canyon was lit up, as far as they could see, like Christmas.

There were many bridges, at all levels, stretching in both directions. They were lit up with glowing bulbs of as many colors as was possible. He could barely see people crossing on the closer ones. Some small vehicle's lights moved and winked as they were hidden, then revealed again by the bridge's structures. Made of all-natural fiber and flexible cables, the bridges swayed gently. Across from their room, on the other side of the canyon, room lights were lit here and there, in rows of various lengths and levels. Others were staggered, seemingly random. They winked on and off, as the people across the way came and went to homes, businesses and even other hotels.

And deep down below, many levels below them, the sound of the rushing river passed them like the sigh of a mournful ghost.

There were lights there as well. Some moving fast, riding the river in the dark in ships that were made to navigate their deep but narrow paths. Some lights moved slowly, giving no clue as to their source.

"Gorgeous," Jim breathed, sounding mesmerized. The various lights played off his face.

McCoy was unable to pull his eyes away from Jim.

" _Yes_ , you _are_ ," McCoy said softly.

Jim looked at him, his eyes shining happily. Jim then smiled shyly.

"Look who's talking. The very idea of tall, dark-haired, and so hot he makes me drool."

"Well, now, let's keep that mouth too busy for that," McCoy said with a chuckle. He moved in to pull Jim into his arms, and they kissed.

Wrapped around each other, pulled close, they kissed long and deeply. Jim was warm and solid in his arms, and it didn't take long for either of them to start exploring over and under their clothing.

Jim pulled back a bit, giving McCoy's chin a quick nip as he did so.

"Want to try out the shower?"

"Race you!" McCoy growled, releasing Jim.

"Lights on!" Jim ordered, and the race to the shower was on.

They pulled off clothing on the way, tossing shirts, pants, socks, and underwear haphazardly over the gigantic mattress.

Jim got there first and stepped naked into the sunken area under the flow of water. It splashed down on him, sending splatters against the slick, rock walls, darkening them in spots. He lifted his face to it, then snorted and turned around wiping the water out of his face and laughing.

"Tastes okay," Jim said with a smile.

McCoy grabbed Jim and pulled his warm, wet body against his, and stepped them back under the water. The water fell hard on them both, drenching them. It was warm but not hot, and seemed to make McCoy tingle in the cool night air.

Splashing recklessly, glad that the floor was rough and not slick, they raided the amenities. It took them a few tries to separate the lotions from the soaps, not being able to read Pattorite. When they did McCoy found he loved the smell and feel of the soap. It smelled like sweet flowers and spring, and they took turns massaging it into each other. Washing each other's hair.

Toward the end, when there were few sudsy places left to rinse off, McCoy reached for Jim's dick with his soap-slicked hand.

Jim returned the favor.

They started kissing, stroking each other. Getting each other hard. Playing a game of push and shove to get the other directly under the stream. Laughing when they had to stop to breathe.

Soon, the kissing grew serious, the stroking firmer and more insistent as their love play turned to lust and then need.

"What do you want?" McCoy asked wetly in Jim's ear as they pulled each other in close again.

Dripping everywhere, Jim pushed him back a bit, wiped water and wet hair out of his eyes and gave McCoy a wicked smile.

"You wanna fuck me?" Jim asked teasingly. " _Wrestle_ me for it."

Suddenly, Jim pushed him away and padded wetly to their bags. He started digging into his own, rummaging around.

McCoy just watched, pretty sure of what Jim had in mind.

Crowing his victory, Jim held up a tube of lube.

"Show me your wrestling skills, Doctor. All those new moves Hendorff has been teaching you. If you're any good, I'll let you fuck me senseless. And if you're bad at it, you can fuck me anyway."

Jim tossed the lube to McCoy, then sprinted to the mattress. He twisted and dove, landing on his back in the middle, spread eagle, displaying his bobbing erection.

McCoy caught the tube, barely, and tossed it back at Jim. He walked to the edge of the mattress.

"You get yourself ready for some moves, Kid! I got 'em now!"

McCoy lunged, and grabbed at Jim, using moves Hendorff had been teaching him for months.

They wrestled for a while, Jim making counter moves, both of them losing their grip at times on wet limbs and slick torsos. But it was a careful battle. Both were too aware of full, straining cocks unprotected from sudden moves, or careless hands. It was more an excuse to twist and turn, pull and push, and slide against each other, pretending to gain the advantage, only to invite its loss. They started out a rolling tumble of limbs and evil grins. Then moans took over from laughter, caresses from strong grips, until there was no more play. Just loving, heated lust.

They rolled together, across the width of the bed, now as damp as they were dry.

"Now," Jim said softly in McCoy's ear, his arms holding him close. "Love me now."

Leaving him with one deep smoldering kiss, McCoy searched frantically for the lube, lost in the mess and tumble of sheet and pillows.

"Yes!" he cheered when he finally found it, holding it up in triumph, making Jim laugh.

A pillow was placed under Jim's hips, and he was carefully prepped.

When McCoy penetrated him, they were both anxious for it. McCoy slid in slowly, pushed deeply, listening to Jim gasp and moan deep with pleasure, fighting to keep his own need from making him rush.

And Jim was so hot and tight around him that it was always a fight not to let himself loose too soon.

McCoy leaned forward and kissed him, swallowing Jim's gasps when he hit his prostate just right.

With Jim's encouraging moans, McCoy went harder and deeper, until they were both gasping and moaning in unison.

It lasted forever, and not nearly long enough, before Jim begged McCoy to get him off. With more lube in hand, McCoy stroked Jim's cock while keeping his rhythm steady and his cock angled down to massage Jim's prostate.

Jim moaned and gasped, then was coming, ejaculating across his torso.

Before Jim was even finished, McCoy reached his own peak and came inside Jim's ass.

McCoy kept his grip on Jim, but closed his eyes, savoring every pulse while inside him.

McCoy pulled out carefully, and Jim pulled McCoy down beside him. They held each other while their bodies calmed.

The cleanup went quickly. It was late and they were tired, and the alarms would go off all too early in the morning.

They spread out on the large bed, avoiding the really wet spots, and made a pillow and blanket nest around them. The night air and the canyon sounds joined the rain-like echoes of their own, personal waterfall.

"So," McCoy began drowsily just after they settled in the dark. "You sure we can't keep the room for another night?"

Jim sighed.

"No. Already booked up. Besides, you and your father will be up late hobknobbing with all those doctors all week. Sam and I will travel all over, having fun, until I have to go back to work and he actually has to attend some of those presentations. Neither one of us knows when we'll be home for bed. But we do have a standing invitation to bunk on John's ship through the week. If we don't have to catch a shuttle up to the ship, we can stay out later and keep visiting. We'll just have to let each other know what our evening plans are."

"We'll come back, to Pattor, on vacation, just for this room," McCoy decided.

"Damn right."

With the water sounds lulling them to sleep, they both drifted off.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

 

***

 

Jim Kirk smiled as he slid off the barkeen's saddle. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he turned to watch Sam do the same. Sam slid down, pulled off his goggles, and shook his head, grinning. A few centimeters taller than Jim, Sam's wind-whipped hair made their height difference seem more pronounced. Jim ran a hand over his own head, feeling his hair sticking out just as wildly as Sam's. Sam handed Jim his goggles.

"How'd you like that?" Jim asked. He grabbed Sam's arm to pull him away from the barkeen after handing their goggles to the pilot. They stood off to the side and watched as a new rider came up and mounted.

Sam's steps were unsteady, but he laughed as Jim steered him toward the crowded building across the landing space. They were just this side of a fast-moving river. Jim could hear the roar of the water as it disappeared into an underground cavern. The only building around was surrounded by racing fans, talking excitedly amongst themselves. There were species here from over a dozen planets that Jim recognized. The building itself wasn't huge, about the size of a hanger or warehouse. But it didn't have to be, since the races were subterranean.

"That was crazy!" Sam said with delight. "The natives always travel around on dragon back?"

"Their version of dragons, anyway," Jim said with a smile. "In the past, before shuttles and hovercars, only the ruling class traveled by barkeen. Now, they mostly work for the tourists, although some of the more prosperous citizens keep them for personal use. This was a tiny hop for them. We're not that far from the town."

"That was fun," Sam admitted. He flexed his hands. "Although kind of scary. I think I had a good death grip going on there. Good thing it's a nice day. I wouldn't want to ride one while it was cold or raining. I'd freeze my ass off."

"They're fair weather flyers only," Jim admitted. " And they only go so high, or they'd get too cold. A lot more fun than getting here by shuttle."

"How did you get last minute tickets?" Sam asked as they turned toward the crowded building across the lot. "I thought the word was that Tapor races were always sold out."

"They were," Jim said with a smirk. "But you know how most of these touristy places are. They always set aside some tickets for politicians, well connected or well-off families, or visiting brass."

"And you're visiting brass."

Jim barked a laugh.

" _Barely_ , and only at the moment. Soon as anyone who outranks me from Starfleet or the Federation gets near this planet and wants tickets, I'm just a glorified taxi service. Besides this is the semi-final for this area, not the Grand Finale of the World Championships. They're broadcasting, so want the balconies to look full, and most are probably saving for the bigger races. If we hadn't gotten these tickets they'd have pulled someone in for free, minutes before the race, to make sure it looked well attended. I just happened to get them first."

"I've heard it's interactive," Sam said, "but not much more than that, and they restrict the number that can attend at any given time."

"It's because the tradition is for the spectators to keep up with the racers," Jim said happily. "And they don't want more than the venue can handle at a run."

Sam stopped in surprise.

"And how on earth, are we supposed to keep up with _boat_ races?" Sam asked with suspicion. "We're not pushing them or anything, are we?"

"Just follow me," Jim said with a laugh. "I'll explain as we go. It'll start soon."

They walked through the crowds and up to the entry stairs to the building.

"This is where the race starts," Jim said, nodding toward the building as they approached the entrance. "Below, there's a large cavern, with two levels. One level contains balconies on both sides of the cavern. In the middle is where the surface river goes underground. Over Pattor's history, surface rivers dug out a spider web of tunnels underneath many of the land masses. Those subterranean rivers met, merged, and then divided again until they came flowing out of the side of the canyon and down to the river. The Pattorites have taken the natural tunnels and had worked them into roughly rounded tubes, which they use for the races."

"And our part is...?"

Jim grinned. "There are five caverns. The starting line, the finish line, and three caverns in between. Our job is to beat the racers to the next cavern, watch them arrive, then cheer them on to the next part of the race."

Sam's eyebrows went up. "We're supposed to _beat_ the racers?"

"Yeah," Jim said happily.

"How?" Sam asked with disbelief.

"Wait until we get there, and I'll explain."

They joined the line at the door, waiting for their turn to show their tickets and enter. Everyone around them was talking excitedly about the upcoming race, and discussing their bets. Jim and Sam had decided to forgo any betting, not knowing anything about the teams or their history.

Once inside, Jim thought it looked like the inside of most sporting venues. There were small shops on the sides, selling various Pattorite wares. Signs that pointed out what Jim knew was the native equivalent of 'fresher rooms, and a larger area where the crowd went to stand in lines to place their bets. In the center was the stairs that led down to the race level. The wide stairs were set in a spiral, where several could walk shoulder to shoulder if they were so inclined. The walls here were cut from rock, smoothed to a shine and covered with some sort of clear polish.

Jim and Sam made their way down the main stairs, following the others, until they came to a divide. With a shrug, Jim let Sam decide which route to take. Sam chose the left.

Jim wondered if they'd descended half a mile or more when they came to the main cavern. The echoes of hundreds of footsteps multiplied as they stepped inside with the others.

The large cavern was finished and looked like the inside of most buildings he'd seen so far. Size wise, it seemed to be the length of an old-fashioned football field, and about three stories from the lowest point to the ceiling. Across from them, at their level, was another balcony. Between them was a lower level with a flat, sandy open area with a slow-moving stream in the center of it. The river ran lengthwise across the open area, and out another tunnel at the other end. There was a platform at that end and a gate across the water. If anyone fell in, they wouldn't be pulled down into the network of tunnels below. In staggered locations on both banks of the stream were seven boats. Narrow and shallow, they looked like the bottom halves of large plastic pipes. There was just enough room for four crewmembers in each.

Jim and Sam walked over to the balcony rail as others around them started picking out their own spots. The talk around them grew loud and animated with the crowd's excitement. Most weren't speaking Standard, but in the local language that Jim didn't understand. The railing was at chest height for him, so Jim leaned both elbows on it. Sam did the same and they stood shoulder to shoulder.

"See those seven mounds, on the other side of the stream and at the back?" Jim asked. Sam nodded. "The teams start there and fight for which boat they want. The boat they end up with is their starting position for entry into the underground network. They'll have to fight harder for the boats in front than in the back. If they choose to fight at all. They can just take the rear boats and make up their positions during the water part of the race."

"You said earlier, it's like a mixture of hand to hand combat and wrestling?" Sam asked.

"It'll look like that to us. When two crew from the _same_ team board a boat, it's theirs."

Jim pointed to the array of data screens hanging over the center of the stream. They were flashing information to the crowds on both balconies.

"See the maps?" Jim continued. "The stream branches off into anywhere from twenty to thirty different tunnels between the caverns. And they rejoin at various locations, until there's just the single stream hitting the next stop. Once in the tunnels, the crewmen have to start making decisions as to which tunnels to take."

Sam was studying the maps overhead. "And the tunnels are different lengths, angles of descent, and depth? So, they can make up the time they lost in the beginning, and be the first to enter the next cavern."

"That's it," Jim said in agreement. "They then take a few minutes to regroup and fix things, or whatever, and then leave that cavern in the same order they arrived. But there's a catch."

Jim pointed at the stream below. "The amount of water released once the race starts is random. They can pick a fast tunnel, but they take the chance it'll flood too much. They have to stop until it goes down to a safer level or the system closes that tunnel entirely. Or, it could go bone dry on them. Or the boat they're trying to beat takes the same route, so they can't get ahead. So, they can memorize the fastest routes, but using them could actually backfire on them."

"So, they get four chances to get ahead and win, in between the caverns," Sam said. "The order they arrive in the last cavern reveals the winners."

"Got it."

Sam looked at Jim like he was crazy.

"And do I even want to know how we're supposed to keep up with _that?_ Jim, the posted average speed on some of those tunnels is crazy!"

Jim turned around and nodded to the wall behind them. There were several large doors to one side, and several oval openings in the wall, with a bar across the top, on the other. It reminded Jim of a downward angled Jeffries tube.

"We can take the elevators from one cavern to another to beat the boats, or...."

Jim glanced slyly at Sam and grinned. "We can take the sliding tubes."

" _Slide?_ Down to the next level?" Sam's expression said that he thought Jim was insane. "Those things have to be--"

"Wicked fast, some more than a klick long, wind crazily, and a lot steeper than the racing tunnels," Jim added with glee. "You go in one at a time, count five seconds between sliders, keep your body straight but loose, and _go_. They're all enclosed, coated to be slick, and will get us to the next cavern before the racers."

Jim saw the uncertainty on Sam's face as he stared at the openings of the sliding tubes.

"Of course, we _can_ take the elevators," Jim said, leaning against the railing, not watching Sam. "It's _safer_ , and not so hard on _old_ joints like--"

" _Who's_ got old joints?" Sam asked, a touch of annoyance in his voice.

"Well, now, Sam, we have to face facts," Jim said with a slight sigh. "I know that six years between us isn't all that much, but you're in _that_ stage of life now and--"

"What _stage_?" Sam asked carefully, leaning on the balcony railing with one elbow, turned to Jim. His eyes were amused, but challenging. "What stage are _Len and I_ at, because we're six years older than you?"

Jim hid a smile. He'd forgotten that Sam and Bones were the same age. He never really thought about how old Bones was. But he could use that.

"You _know_ ," Jim said casually. "Mid-thirties. Bodies settling, the start of the long decline... Bones would probably tell me I was crazy, and he'd head straight for the elevators. He's a _doctor_ , you know. A _medical_ doctor. He knows about the ravages of age. And now that you're a father, and settled in, living the sedate life, in a desk job..."

"Hey, _Shorty!"_ Sam said pulling himself up to enhance his few centimeters over Jim, hands on hips. He tried giving Jim a stern glare. "Are you saying I'm getting _old_? Or that I'm _out of shape_?"

Jim didn't consider Sam either, and knew that Sam was a lot more active in his job than he let on. And he also knew that Sam kept to a healthy exercise routine, kept active with the kids, and was concerned about keeping in very good shape.

"Not.... _chubby_ or anything like that," Jim said as he straightened, trying to pretend that he wasn't actually shorter. He gave Sam an appraising once over. "You're just getting nicely _rounded_. Here and there. Actually, growing old is agreeing with--"

Sam barked a laugh and shoved at Jim's shoulder playfully.

"You _manipulative_ bastard. _Yes_ , I'll go on the slides with you, just to teach you a lesson. Just remember, _little_ brother, I can always get into better shape. You're always going to be a munchkin."

Jim grinned back.

"I'm married to a doctor. If I really _wanted_ a few centimeters on you, he could find them. Somewhere. I just happen to be the _perfect_ height for my Captain's chair."

Sam shook his head, turning back toward the balcony railing with a smile.

"How in the world does Len put up with you? You used to drive me crazy. I'm surprised no one's strangled you in your sleep yet."

 _Because I used to push the dresser in front of the door at night, after you left,_ Jim thought suddenly. _So, they couldn't sneak in and get me._

The unwanted and unexpected thought was like a splash of cold water, and Jim's smile disappeared. He forced another back on.

 _I'm having fun,_ Jim reminded himself. _The past is the past. It has no place here._

"So, no barkeen ride back?" Sam asked, after they'd both gone silent for a few moments.

"Disappointed?" Jim asked. "Because we have two more days and a lot of flight time we can cram into them."

Sam tried to look disinterested, but Jim could see he liked the idea.

"I could go for another ride," Sam said casually. "Only I want a front seat next time. You got a better view."

"Wrestle you for it," Jim said, giving Sam a shoulder bump. "Still up for the slides?"

"Why not?" Sam said with a shrug. "I'll even race you to them when the time comes."

"Just remember, a slow count of five before going in after the person in front of you. Don't know what the landing is like," Jim replied. "We could both end up squashed at the bottom."

"You are just a _tad_ bigger and heavier than when you were twelve," Sam noted. "But I'll chance it. We always have our personal physicians to fix up any sprains or bruises."

Jim agreed. "It always pays to have them on call."

A loud gong reverberated through the cavern, and suddenly, everyone quit talking and was at the railing.

Jim, Sam, and who knows how many over the broadcast, watched as 28 Pattorites, all wearing loose shirts and shorts in one of the seven team colors, came out of the back area. They moved in groups of four to stand on a mound with their teammates. They were empty-handed and had no shoes or foot coverings. A voice echoed over the hidden speakers, in the native language. Glancing up at the data screens, Jim could see what the broadcast cameras showed, as well as a Standard translation.

"Do we need it?" Sam asked, glancing up to see what Jim was looking at.

"I'd rather watch the live action," Jim admitted. "I know the basics."

After some more announcements, which had more of the crowd cheering, a gong sounded, and the racers moved. Team members suddenly took off in different directions. Some ran toward the boats. Some ran after the opposing team members. Other's took up defensive positions in front of competitors. And in a strange mix of martial-arts moves and wrestling, a controlled brawl broke out.

For the next few minutes Sam and Jim watched and pointed interesting battles out to each other. The fighting was competitive, but not dangerous. It was clear they weren't really allowed to hurt each other as each team tried to claim the best boats and keep their competitors from doing the same.

Jim soon found himself rooting for the yellow team, while Sam adopted the green. Both of their teams were making good headway, with each having one man in the first two boats. Wading across the knee-high stream to get to the one in front, while keeping off the competition. Jim found himself cheering loudly when the second member of the yellow team claimed the first boat. Then the scramble got serious for the next two in line. One blue team and one purple team tried to claim the third in line at the same time, both crewmen jumping in. They stood and were wrestling, in an effort to eject the other, when both toppled out and into the water. Two of the green team jumped in, claiming the boat for themselves. Both Jim and Sam cheered them on as well.

Once the first two boats in line were claimed, there was a mad scramble for the rest. There were only a few small skirmishes after that, with the crowd loudly calling out their happiness or displeasure at their chosen team's placement. Once that last crewman was seated, and the boats full, another gong sounded. The crewmen then dug down in the bottom of the boats, and pulled out what looked like handle-less oar paddles. They all untied their boats, pushed off and, in order, positioned the boats in front of the gate that kept them from being swept down into the underground maze.

Once all seven boats were in line, the crowd went wild. A loud chime echoed over the chamber, and a massive wave of water roared down the stream from the back, lifting the boats higher as the gate disappeared. In a flash, one behind the other, the boats took the plunge down into the tunnel.

The race was on.

The crowd turned to the back walls, hurrying toward the elevators or the slide chutes. Jim and Sam got in line for one of the chutes, Jim noticing most had chosen an elevator.

 _Well, now we'll see if there's a reason they're not choosing to descend the old fashion way,_ Jim thought. _I just hope we don't break anything. Or, at least, not anything Bones can't fix._

Sam, in front of Jim, counted off a few seconds after the person in front of him disappeared down the chute. Sam then grabbed the bar at the top of the slide, pulled himself up, and slid feet first into the dim tunnel. Sam's surprised yelp echoed back up.

After a slow count of five, with a bit extra to give Sam a head start, Jim grabbed the bar and jumped into the chute himself.

In a second, the glass-like, friction-less coating had him hurtling at what felt like top speed, feet first through the dimly-lit, twisting tunnel.

Jim whooped as a particularly tight turn had him sliding halfway up the tube.

It wasn't quite the same as flying, but it was almost as fun.

 

***

 

 

Doctor Leonard McCoy found his mind wandering during the current presentation. It wasn't that the topic wasn't interesting. Or that he didn't understand the information that the lecturer was presenting. He'd read the presentation, and could go over it later.

It was the lecturer that was so boring. It didn't even have visual aids.

"Well," David McCoy said softly, leaning over the hard seat divider. "Wake me when it's over."

"Pa, be nice," McCoy scolded, leaning closer to his father. "We can't _both_ drift off. It'd be rude. You had the last nap. _My_ turn."

"I did _not_ ," David said, without much conviction. "I was _listening_. Just pondering the possibilities of future research with my eyes closed."

"And snoring."

"Mumbling my displeasure with the lack of vision and three-dimensional thinking behind the project. Under my breath."

McCoy thought that over for a second.

_He's got a point. I was mumbling that to myself as well._

"Fine. How about we both nap? Maybe we'll blend in and no one will notice."

David chuckled, then started working on something on his PADD. When McCoy leaned over to look, David tilted it so he could see. It was a list of the afternoon's presentations. They hadn't chosen any of those yet. They'd both wanted to leave it open as long as possible to see if something that needed a closer look came their way.

David was ticking off his six choices in one column.

 _Most of those are more Terran specific,_ McCoy thought to himself. _Stuff he can use for Deneva. I need to look into that one about bio-filtering and transporters._

They certainly didn't have to attend the same lectures. Later in the week, when the question and answer sessions came up, he'd be checking out some of the presentations he'd missed. McCoy wanted to cover a wider selection of topics than either Sam or his father were interested in. And he'd certainly be there when Sam gave his presentation in a few days. Even if it was only to support him and his father's work. But David needed to hit the ones more focused on microbiology, and hit up some of the presenters for networking purposes. Attend some of the after-parties the various groups were having, in a meet-n-greet setting. Hooking up with other microbiologists could be important to further their research.

McCoy needed to catch up on some issues, and make his own recommendations to Starfleet Medical for further follow up in some current projects, and their funding. So, his and his father's choices may not overlap very much from now on.

But it was nice when they did.

David handed the PADD over to McCoy. Studying it one more time, McCoy chose his six selections. They only had one that they both wanted to go to.

Passing it back to his father, McCoy looked up to see everyone around him start to gather their things to leave. He hadn't even realized the presentation was that close to being over. The presenter had already walked off. But then, Halorites weren't known for their public speaking or social skills. They always avoided it when they could.

"Guess I missed the wrap-up," McCoy said, standing up to stretch. Those around them began to talk amongst themselves and head for the exit.

"Didn't miss anything," David said with a sigh. "Nothing new or innovative here. Time for lunch?"

"We have a two-hour break," McCoy said. "Any ideas?"

"I hear that balcony restaurant, the one run by the hospital, has a good spread."

McCoy had heard about it as one of the better places with a canyon view. It had three levels of dining on balconies that overlooked the canyon and river. He and Jim had probably flown right by it on their ride yesterday.

"Bit pricey, if they have any tables left."

"My treat," David said. "I'm sure the elevators are full of all us medical types heading for the surface and the fast food that's bad for us. And the restaurant is _downstairs_. I'd pay good money not to have to go a few levels up on these stairs because the elevators are full."

McCoy laughed. "Fine, Pa. But we can split the bill."

" _No_ , we can't," David said with a huff as he started toward the end of their row. The place was emptying out fast. "How often do I get to take you to lunch?"

Close behind David, McCoy put his hand on David's shoulder.

"Talked me into it, Pa."

They made their way to the elevator tubes. Set in a circle, there were eight hexagon-shaped elevators with their backs to a central core. Here, they only went up and down, so the mandatory staircases made a large spiral around it. One staircase was for walking up only, one for down. They were designed a bit differently in stair height and width, the Pattorites insisting that going up and down were different movements entirely, so stairs should be designed to accommodate those differences. Which would be true for them, but their visitors needed to watch the traffic, and follow suit.

And watch their feet. McCoy had had more than a couple of minor trips on them, not used to their non-human design. It'd be embarrassing to end up needing a doctor.

McCoy and David made their way to the central hub of elevators, waiting until one going down stopped for more passengers. The room was crowded with people either looking for the next presentation or looking for lunch. And while all this free exchange of information was great, McCoy found he'd really rather visit the hospital proper, up above. An urge to go up, and get off on the 'wrong' floor so he could wander around was strong. But that would be rude and could get him arrested. Never underestimate security.

He looked over and saw his father looking up longingly.

_Pa was even more disappointed than I was. He ran the largest hospital in the southern United States. He loves to see how others manage to do that, without going insane._

_A brand new ninety-two level hospital complex, called **The Hospital,** containing the best new tech. A phenomenal, system-wide, admired hub for patient treatment and recovery. Center of the local systems research and development..._

_And we're stuck down here in the conference area._

And it wasn't just them. Over eight hundred doctors, as well as medical and biological researchers were attending, McCoy had yet to hear from one who'd actually seen the hospital floors above.

When their turn came, the elevator was so smooth that you couldn't feel any movement at all. Which meant that they hadn't stinted on anti-grav technology for them. Not all buildings used it. Not even all of them on Earth.

_It's like a Starfleet ship. Latest tech, where ever you can use it._

_Now I want to see the upper levels even more._

Getting a table at the hospital's restaurant was a near thing. They'd seemed to be full, but a whisper to the host from David found them a table at the back, near the service door. McCoy didn't know what that promised 'tip' was, but it worked well enough to get them in. They could _almost_ see a balcony from their table. But that was fine with him. He was more interested in his father than the view.

"So, Sam got his Doctorate," McCoy began, starting in on his soup.

"Been working hard for it," David said with a nod over his own bowl. "The Denevians practically yanked him out of school after his first few degrees, they were _that_ anxious to get started on research. He wanted to get it done before Winona was born."

"They doing okay?"

"Aurelan and the baby? Oh, sure. Wouldn't allow it to be otherwise," David said with a smile.

"And you?"

David's smile grew bigger. "Miss my little girl a bit, but Holly's with Aurelan and the kids. I'm fine."

"Dating?"

David chuckled. "A bit. Nothing really serious. I'm not lonely, or pining. I keep as busy as I want to be, and have plenty of friends and family to keep up with now. If I even thought about getting bored, John would draft me into doing something for him. But there is something I wanted to talk about, while I'm here. Get your feelings on it."

"Now's the time to bring it up," McCoy said with an encouraging smile. "What's on your mind?"

Whatever it was, it was important. His father wasn't usually this hesitant.

"Well, you know that I spend a lot of time with Sam, Aurelan and the kids. I'd feel like I was intruding, but they ask me over all the time. Aurelan's from such a large family, I think she misses having a lot of people around when it's just the four of them at home. Half the time I end up going over with John. John's latched onto that family like they're his last gasp of oxygen in this life. I've been watching to make sure he's not crowding them. That he's not too desperate for company, and imposes. But he's always waited for an invitation, so I think that it's a two-way relationship. The Kirk's really do want him, and me, around as much as we are."

"Doesn't sound like a problem, then," McCoy said. "Although, Sam might be a bit more needful of family connections now. It's only been six months since he and Jim lost Winona."

"I know," David said. "Sam's still grieving, in his way. Whatever hope he had about reconnecting with her in some distant future got shot all to hell and back. But I think he's grieving the mother he hoped she'd be, not the mother she was."

"I'm going to say it to you, and no one else," McCoy said, frowning. "Because it'd hurt Jim and Sam's feelings, even if they thought it was true. That woman was a stone-cold _bitch_. _But..._ I _don't_ believe it was her fault."

"No?" David asked, curious.

"No. That family's been screwed over in more ways than one. And I _can't_ say more than that."

David studied him, then nodded. "Then I'll take it as true."

Sneaking a glance at him, McCoy could tell that his father had yet to bring up what was really on his mind.

"Now, quit putting it off, Pa. What did you want to talk to me about? Sam's family?"

David nodded solemnly.

"Was at the Kirk's not too long ago. Neighborhood party going on. Bright sunny day, lots of food. Kids playing, running and screaming all over. All healthy and happy. Like every child should be. One of those beautiful days that remind you just how precious family and loved ones are. Peter was introducing me to his friends, holdin' my hand, when he introduced me as his _Grandpa_."

David didn't make a joke of the word. He said it like it was a beloved, longed-for title.

"Oh," McCoy said casually. "How'd you take it? Do Sam and Aurelan know?"

"Sam heard," David admitted. McCoy thought his father looked kind of wistful. "I didn't correct Peter. And neither did Sam. I think it took us both by surprise, though. Peter knows how I'm related, through you. Not like he got confused or anything. I just went on like Peter calls me that all the time. Brought it up with Sam, later. Made a joke about the kid slipping up there."

"Oh?"

David nodded his head. "Sam looked a little sad, then looked at me, smiled, and said, _'Peter's smart. He knows who loves him. My kids need all the grandparents they can get. If you're willing to be that to all of them_.'"

McCoy put down his spoon and sat back.

_This is **huge.** Sam and Aurelan take family **very** seriously. So does Pa. They'd know what that would mean to him._

"Wow."

David put his spoon down as well. He looked solemn.

"Yeah," David said gravely. "Told Sam right then and there I'd want to talk to you and Jim, first. That I'd be... be damned proud to be _Grandpa_ to those kids. But this ain't a job to take lightly. Those three kids have Aurelan's parents. They _have_ a loving Grandma and Grandpa. I don't mean to disrespect Victor. He's a good man. Don't mean to disrespect the memory of George Kirk, either. That man deserved a damned lot more than he got out of life. And I don't want to intrude on their grieving, if that's what's behind the offer. They get their souls settled over Winona's loss, they could regret gifting me that title. Once I settle into it, I don't plan on giving it back."

"No, they won't regret it," McCoy assured him with a smile.

"I'm more than willing," David admitted, "but I don't want you and Jim to feel short changed and--"

"How on any planet in this universe would that be short changing _us_?" McCoy interrupted. Confused.

"Well, Sam may be okay with it, but Jim may feel like their father's getting crowded out," David said. "And you're still talking about your own kids, someday?"

"Sure," McCoy admitted. Then he shrugged. "It's a plan, but you know how plans go. Especially if you plan too far ahead."

David sighed. "Yeah, I do. Well, if you _do_ get that lucky, then it'd be more than _your_ kids calling me--"

"Pa!" McCoy said, starting to feel frustrated. "What difference would that make? Aurelan has seven brothers and sisters. Victor, from what I've heard, is a damned great grandfather to all his grandkids. You could be a grandpa to _all the kids on Deneva_. Won't affect how you are with my future kids. Just because I didn't have a brother or sister doesn't mean I don't know how to _share_."

"I figured you'd feel that way," David admitted with a grin. "But it's only right to ask. Aurelan's parents are fine with it. So, no worries there. Didn't want you and Jim to get blindsided by it. I get introduced as the kid's grandfather and it may confuse a lot of strangers."

"Fuck 'em," McCoy said with a shrug.

" _Language_ , Leonard. This place is upper class!" David said scoldingly, with a slight smile behind it. "They could kick us the _fuck_ out!"

McCoy chuckled.

"Jim will _love_ the idea," McCoy assured him. "But you can ask him yourself, tonight, or I can. But I _know_ what he'll say."

McCoy reached out across the small table and placed his hand on his father's forearm. He gave it a squeeze.

"We might be stuck with the family we are born into, but sometimes we win the lottery," McCoy said gently. "I took the prize, with you and Ma. But chosen family... They're just as special. And sometimes even more loved, because they're chosen for who they _are_. I'd have chosen you and Ma in a heartbeat. Congratulations, _Grandpa_."

David nodded then, looking like his son's words had touched him deeply.

David patted McCoy's hand.

"Thank you," David said solemnly. Then he cleared his throat and started back on his lunch.

"Better get this eaten before the bill comes," David said with a shy smile. "May lose my appetite when the check arrives."

McCoy laughed and started back on his own meal.

 

***

 

 

Jim, arms crossed tightly across his chest, kept his head up, his legs together, and even pointed his toes to make himself as aerodynamic as possible. Now in their third slider tunnel, Jim was determined to stick the landing.

_Forty. Forty. Forty..._

_Fifty..._

_Sixty! Shit! Fifty. Forty..._

_Turn. Spiral. Spiral. Forty..._

And if he didn't, then at least get out of the way, so Sam wouldn't land on him, liked he'd landed on Sam.

Twice.

Jim figured Sam had bruises he wasn't going to admit to either.

_Forty. Forty. Forty. Left turn. Fifty. Forty. Right turn..._

The slides were kilometers long, and there were no markings along the route that Jim could find to tell him how near he was to the end. The lighting inside the tubes was low, but not too dark. There were what looked to be removable side panels, cleverly disguised, where people could make their escape. But they were random distances apart, as far as Jim could tell. The surface artificially slick, and a bit bigger than the diameter of a Jeffries tube on the _Enterprise_ , so Jim had no problems with claustrophobia. The air vents in the ceiling were set flush, and well placed. So, there wasn't any problem breathing stale air or hitting his head on them.

_Forty. Forty. Forty-Five? Almost fifty. Forty. Forty..._

On the first two sliders, the exits from the tunnels and onto the viewing platforms had come on suddenly, with a short slow-down zone. Practically none, at their exit speed. He and Sam had hit the curled-up end of the first slider stop, been flung into the air, and had ended up in a two-man pile of Humanity. Thankfully, on a soft and padded surface. Which hadn't helped Jim the first time, because Sam had been too stunned by being suddenly airborne and then flat on the pad to remember to get out of Jim's way.

The second time Sam had almost landed on his feet, but had fallen sideways and twisted to land on his back. Jim, trying to avoid landing on Sam's feet as he twisted in mid-air, had miscalculated and had landed with a full body slam on Sam anyway. Again. In a way that had Sam tearing up and fetal.

Sam had walked it off, claiming he was fine, and hadn't wanted any more kids anyway. Jim was totally sympathetic and sorry about that.

It hadn't helped that the Pattorite who'd pulled them aside at the second landing, since there were more sliders behind them, kindly suggested that maybe the Humans would enjoy the _elevator_ next time?

Nor did it help to watch how artistically the Pattorites handled the exit. The natives would be thrown up, reposition themselves in mid-air, and stick the landing, feet flat, then move quickly out of the way. They were as accomplished and graceful as any Olympic athlete dismounting from a bar or a beam.

_Forty. Forty. Forty._

_Fifty._

_Turn. Turn at fifty..._

The only consistent condition between the slides that Jim had noticed was that the slide went to a ten-degree angle just before the sliders popped out into a cavern. There had been a few areas he'd crossed that had almost gotten down to ten, but mostly the angle was kept at twenty-five or more degrees. And they shouldn't be in the middle of a turn or a downhill spiral.

_Forty-five. Forty. Thirty-five. Thirty. Twenty-five!_

Jim readied himself. And now that he knew to watch for it, there was a slight glow up ahead, and the angle changed to 10 degrees.

Now prepared for it, he suddenly popped into another cavern. Hitting the curved end, as he was flung up into the air, he threw his arms out and righted himself just as his feet hit the mat. He only had to take one more step to stop his momentum.

Moving aside quickly, Jim turned to watch for Sam.

Sam hit the end of the line fast, was thrown up, and with a wild flailing of arms, landed on one foot. But he had to take several huge steps before he got himself under control.

Jim smiled and clapped his hands as Sam left the mat, getting a laugh from him.

They both laughed as they made their way to the balcony. Like the other three caverns before this one, there was a balcony on both sides. The vid screens showed the various teams and their locations. Digital maps showed how far away they were, the paths they had chosen, the water's depth and speed, and their relative speed in each route. Jim's team, the yellow, had fallen back to fourth place by the time they hit the third cavern. Sam's green team had left the last stop in second place.

The crowd babbled excitedly around them. Jim could see the racers were close, and they had about five minutes before the racers arrived.

"How many more of those do we have?" Sam asked breathlessly.

"One more slide," Jim said. "Then we'll be pretty much under Fallat, where the water drains out the side of the canyon."

"I don't think I care who wins anymore," Sam said with a huge grin. "I'll come back for the slides!"

They tried to make sense of the statistics on the data screens. Some of the turns on one route looked wild, and Jim was impressed with how that team handled the turns. Some in the crowd groaned when a crewman on another team lost his grip on the paddle, and they were left one short on that side.

When the data screens showed that the first of the racers was near the cavern, Jim and Sam turned toward the entry tunnel. To the cheers and jeers of the crowd, the seven racing boats shot out unto the cavern. The last one lagging by a full minute. All came to a stop at the narrow platform at the gate at the other end. Jim's team had fallen back to seventh place, and Sam's had kept their second-place spot.

The crowd started heading toward the slides and elevators as the racers prepared for the last 'leg'.

"Must be a short distance for the racers," Sam said. "Everyone is leaving before they take off again."

"Let's hang back and go last," Jim suggested. "Maybe we can get more control if we don't feel like we're holding anyone up behind us."

"Fine with me," Sam agreed with a shrug. "We won't have to see the racers arrive to find out who won."

Jim and Sam hung back and watched as the teams adjusted their seating arrangements, some trading in broken paddles for new ones. Like a race car at a pit-stop, no second was wasted. They may not be able to adjust their entry order into the last part of the race, but they wanted to be ready to go the second the gate opened.

By the time the last gong sounded, there were few spectators left on their balcony. Those left were heading toward the elevator. The chutes now had no lines.

"Want to race?" Jim asked. "We could each take a different one."

"Nah. How about we share, and you go first."

"You just want payback by landing on me," Jim said kiddingly.

"I want," Sam said with a smile, "for you to be there when I finish. If I get there first, you'll miss out on the perfect Olympic landing."

Jim laughed. "That I _gotta_ see."

Jim picked the last chute in line and headed for it. Although he now had practice at it, it was tiring. Instead of the enthusiastic _'grab the bar and jump in feet first'_ he'd done before, he was a bit more careful. It seemed like a long time since they'd grabbed that sandwich thing a few floors up, and the sore spots from their earlier collisions were starting to make themselves known.

_I wonder if I should have told Sam how to spot the exit coming up?_

_Nah. Why give away my advantage? We could be doing this again someday, as a family._

_Got to have one card saved up my sleeve to impress the kids!_

Jim slid into the chute, soon building up speed. The rock here was more layered, and the darker layers made it feel almost like a strobe light as he rushed past them.

_Closer to the canyon. Deeper. After all this sliding, I think I'm going to want to take an elevator up! That's going to be a lot more stairs than either Sam or I are used to._

The tube had just started a tight turn when the world rocked, and Jim was slammed suddenly to the side. A booming roar screamed through the rock around him, sounding as if the whole planet was caving in. Not having time to bring his arms up as his body tipped and rolled, Jim's head and shoulder bounced hard off that side of the tunnel just as the lights went out. Thrashing, trying to straighten himself in the darkness as he continued to slide sideways, something hit him hard in the ribs.

A sudden flash blinded him in the dark as his left temple hit the unseen tube wall.

A fraction of a second after that, he blacked out.

 

***

 

 

It didn't take McCoy more than a couple of hours into his afternoon to wish his lunch with his father had been longer. The next two presentations he'd attended solo were interesting, but they would have been more fun with his father along. There were actually some really fascinating things going on he would have loved to have his opinion on.

_At least I'm earning my keep. I have a lot of notes to go over, and questions to ask the presenters later. I'll actually have something interesting to send Starfleet Medical._

As everyone stood and started to gather their things, McCoy checked his PADD.

_And this next one's with Pa. Six floors down. I've been sitting so long today that taking the stairs is probably a good idea._

_I wonder if we'll ever get one of the smaller rooms. The ones with a canyon view._

_That'd be nice for a change. I'm starting to miss the Enterprise's viewports._

A few rooms had large windows on the canyon side. But those seemed to be reserved for smaller, more intimate groups than he'd been in so far.

Otherwise, McCoy couldn't have said they were underground. They could be in any skyscraper on Earth, under the dome on Mars, or several other space stations he'd seen firsthand. Except for the lack of windows, they all had a finished and professional style that said ' _comfort_ ' and ' _business_ ' at the same time. This time, all in browns, dark reds and bits of white that reminded McCoy of the colors of the canyon outside.

_Level eighty-three, room something or other. I'm surprised they have room symbols in Pattorite, and not in Standard. Not having their rooms labeled in numerical order is a bit unusual._

_Good thing we have these PADD maps. Or a bunch of us would be getting lost all the time._

The trip down the stairs went quickly, even though it was a bit crowded. Finding his floor, he started watching his PADD for directions, weaving around various groups collecting in the hallway and talking shop.

Down toward the end of the corridor he saw his father.

"Anything interesting?" McCoy asked as he came up to him.

"A couple of things," David said with a smile.

"Same here," McCoy admitted. "We can --"

The ground shook back and forth a couple of time, a loud, deep grumbling of stressed earth rumbling around them. Everyone around them stopped, many holding arms or appendages out to keep their balance.

McCoy, and many others, pulled out their comms.

"It's dead," McCoy said, looking around at the others. People looked shocked, and had started moving down the hall toward the stairs and elevators.

McCoy and David started moving that direction with the others.

"Shouldn't be," David looked at his. "I've made outside contact at a lower level than this."

"They'd have to route the signals above ground," McCoy told him. "We've lost that."

The corridor was starting to get crowded as people left the presentation rooms. No one was panicking, although everyone was tense and on high alert. With so many people new to the planet, they were looking for information on what was happening, and where to go.

As they walked past a vid room, McCoy saw that all the screens were dead.

There was another slight rumble, and the light's flickered. Then went out.

Sounds of gasps, soft curses and mumbled confusion filled the darkness. Patches of light started zig-zagging around the room as people turned their comm lights on and searched around them.

McCoy had started to do the same when small green and purple lights in the ceiling started to flicker in alternating patterns.

_No announcement? Audio directions of where to go? What to do?_

Listening behind the crowd's voices and noise, it was eerily quiet.

Muttering and talking, people started heading toward the elevators and stairs again.

 _I know it's more than eighty levels up, but I hope no one is trusting those elevators!_ McCoy thought as he tried to see over the head of the moving crowd.

The ground shook again. This time, it came with a bone deep vibration and a grating noise of stressed metals and grinding rock.

_Something's collapsed! We have to get out!_

The crowd in front of them moved faster. A few in the front calling in the pulsing lights for friends or colleagues.

But something told McCoy that they weren't moving fast enough. Not nearly. And if they were it'd be a stampede and people would get trampled.

Then, suddenly even the emergency lights went out, leaving just comm lights once again.

And behind it, the sounds of kiloliters of rushing water, followed by screams.

"Pa, over here!"

McCoy grabbed his father's arm and pulled him to a side door. One on the canyon side, if McCoy remembered correctly.

With no power, it didn't want to open.

Someone yelled that all the doors in the corridor were now locked. Water was rushing in around their feet.

At the other end of the corridor, people were starting to yell. Panicked voices announcing that there was water gushing down both sets of steps. The voices grew louder, as people from the levels below struggled to climb slick steps up through the rushing water to make their way up. Others tried to help them. Some yelled as they were swept back down.

"Some damn broke somewhere!" David said tensely, a protective hand on McCoy's back as McCoy frantically checked the walls around the door. "It'll _fill up_ this place, bottom to top!"

_A panel! Now if it'll only open the damned thing!_

"Coming down faster," David hissed, watching the crowd as McCoy shown his comm light into the panel, looking for something that looked like a manual release.

The sound of rushing water started to fill the air, literally drowning out the voices of the crowd. The water was gushing down the stairs now, too hard and fast for most to keep their footing on odd stairs they could no longer see. And it wasn't all going straight downhill. More and more of it was forced sideways, and as water washed across McCoy's feet up to his ankles. He could hear people falling into it, thrown off balance while others were trying to help them up.

The crowd was backing away from the stairs and elevators. They couldn't go down, and now there was no going up.

With their comm's lights shining inside the panel, McCoy found what looked to be a handle, down below the lip and almost out of sight. He reached in and pulled it with his fingers, not able to get his whole hand inside.

With a relieved gust of breath he didn't know he was holding, McCoy saw the door slide open a little. Water at his feet flowed inside.

At the other end of the corridor, real panic was starting to set in.

Trained to help, to be there when the rescuers brought in wounded, most had probably never had to actually rescue anyone themselves. Especially _not_ themselves.

McCoy brought his fingers up to his mouth, and in the loudest whistle he could produce, tried to get people's attention.

When a few turned to look, shining their comm lights on him, the water was now sloshing up to McCoy's calves. He waved both hands over his head, then yelled as loudly as he could.

" _Canyon_ side! Emergency _door release!_ Bust out the windows! _Drain_ it! Give it someplace _else_ to go!

Those that heard him, of several species, caught on, and started toward the doors on that side. All looking for the door panel.

"Probably ten, twelve rooms that side," David said, following McCoy through the door McCoy had to push open wide enough for them to get through. "Enough windows to keep the flow low enough? Keep the flow down enough we can breathe?"

"Best case," McCoy said as he sloshed quickly up to the windows.

There were six very large panels taking up that side of the room, each about two by two and a half meters. They were now opaque, and McCoy didn't know how far away from the canyon they were, if they led to one open area or six. Or if there were other windows, viewports or some kind of retaining field beyond them. Didn't matter.

He touched one.

"Not glass, but not transparent metal," McCoy announced. "Feels like a plastic compound of some kind."

He turned to look at his father and found that several people, of various species, had followed him into the room. Their lights shown on David, and McCoy could see the struggle and determination to keep in check a fear that matched his own.

"Can we help?"

The speaker was an Andorian that McCoy didn't know.

"We need to get these windows open, make as big a hole as we can, across all the rooms."

The Andorian and a Jen'eri came up to join him. Everyone else stayed back and played their comm lights around the wall. The room was mostly empty of anything except a podium, a large table, and fifteen or sixteen tall, padded chairs and a couch against the back wall.

"Not meant to open," the Jen'eri said thickly. Part silicone based, its voice had a high, clicking ring to it. "Embedded in the wall."

"Opaque though," the Andorian said, his antenna twitching. "So, with a light inhibitor layer inside. More fragile."

McCoy grabbed a chair and dragged it to the window. The water was halfway up his calves now.

"Then it can break."

Picking up the chair, which was heavy, he lifted it as far as he could and tried to bash it into the window. It bounced off.

A Pattorite came up behind them, blocking some of the comm light around them.

"No, not in the middle. Made to withstand force from the inside." The Pattorite sloshed to the center window, then touched the sides of the wall around it. "Hit _here_. It's only inset a few centimeters on the sides. Break the frame and pop it out."

Several others grabbed chairs and came toward the windows.

The Jen'eri came over to McCoy's window, touched a few centimeters from the side, then with a great wallop punched it with a closed fist. The metal crumpled.

McCoy didn't know how long they worked on the windows, or how many times he tried the same thing with the heavy chair. But the water was getting close to mid-thigh when suddenly the window in front of him popped out. It disappeared behind the weight and force of the water.

It surprised him. His hesitation was a mistake.

The rush of water in the room, still flowing in from the corridor, knocked his feet out from under him and swept him and those in the room toward it.

Frantically, he grabbed at the window frame but missed it as he was pulled through with the same force that had popped out the loose window panel.

The next thing he knew he was under the water, tumbling in it as it flowed out of the room.

Then he was free falling.

Into the dark.

 

***

 

"Jim? Jim? Come on, Kid!"

He recognized Sam's voice. He sounded scared. It took Jim a minute to make out the words through the ringing in his ears. His face was patted.

 _Always scaring him,_ Jim thought woozily as he tried to open his eyes. _Need to stop doing that. He might leave..._

His body and head hurt, in several places. The side of his face felt strange. His eye hurt. The air smelled like dirt. He coughed.

Jim tried to sit up, hand going up to his face. Sam was with him and helped him sit. He propped Jim up with a rough surface at his back and stopped Jim's hand before it reached his face. Sam looked like he's been rolling in dirt and dust.

Jim felt like he'd been doing the same thing.

"Don't touch it," Sam said gently. "You've hit your head. Your eye is starting to swell."

Jim squinted with his right eye in the low light of Sam's comm. Purple and green sparkles seem to float in the darkness behind Sam's head.

They were still in the sliding tube.

"What happened?"

"I don't know, but it was something _huge_ ," Sam said grimly, his hand on Jim's shoulder as they leaned into each other. "It's _bad_. Maybe an earthquake. I was able to protect my head, but you must have hit the walls wrong. I slammed into you, and we slid quite a ways, down to this area. The tunnel's collapsed. You hit this dead end pretty hard."

Jim realized then his back was up against rubble, and he was looking _up_ the tube. The purple and green sparkles he saw were small emergency lights in the ceiling. They were bright in the darkness, and flicked on and off in an alternating pattern, making the surroundings either all green or all purple.

Jim thought he was going to throw up. He didn't want to do that. It would hurt and their quarters were tight. The tube wasn't made for two adults to occupy the same space unless they were really friendly about sharing personal space. There wasn't any.

"Okay," Jim said after swallowing thickly. "Good thing there was no one behind us. We'd have been a bit crowded."

_And heaven help anyone under this rubble._

Sam leaned forward, trying to look into Jim's eyes in the strobing lights.

_Not that kind of head injury. I don't think. He's a doctor now, but not that kind of doctor._

It took Jim a couple of tries to find his front pocket. Sam watched him with concern, then realized what he was doing.

"No signal on mine," Sam said. "Yours is military grade. Maybe it'll work."

Jim pulled out his comm and flipped it open. No signal. Not that he thought there would be. Scotty had yet to figure out how to get signals through this much solid earth. Jim set it to scan various frequencies, in case something local came online. He set it on his lap.

"My comm is set to connect to any signal it gets," Jim explained. "Put out a distress beacon and beep to let me know."

"Good idea," Sam said. "Just sit back and let me see if I can find any emergency switches, exits, or... something."

Jim turned to look at the rubble behind him. There were broken pieces of smooth, glassy tube siding, some wires and broken support brackets from the air vents. The majority of it consisted of chunks of rock and what felt like clay. At least, nothing soft and loose was pouring in. But there were no gaps, nor glimpses of light, that told him there was anything left of the slide behind the rock.

"If you feel that shift behind you," Sam told him as he examined the tube around them, "give me a yell. I'll try to grab you before it all finishes the slide down."

The debris was sharp and hard against his back, but it didn't feel like it was moving on him.

For some reason, the thought of Jim making the rest of the slide down with a mountain of debris seemed funny. Jim would have huffed a laugh if his face had been working right.

"Yeah. I'd probably not stick _that_ landing."

Sam gave him a small smile then went back to his inspection.

"Air?" Jim asked.

"What?" Sam asked distractedly.

"We getting air?"

"No."

_Shit. Not good. Odds are we won't suffocate, but it's not a good sign._

Jim took several large breaths, trying to clear the cobwebs that seem to have filled his skull. While Sam was distracted, Jim reached up and felt his face. His fingers came away sticky with blood. But it felt more like shallow scrapes. Anything really serious and he'd be bleeding like crazy. The side of his face was a bit numb. His eye was getting puffier and would be completely closed soon. He would probably have an impressive shiner.

_My left side. I just got that side fixed up not all that long ago. What's up with that side getting whacked all the time? I'm right-handed. I need to work on getting better defensive reflexes on the left._

He took another big breath. Sam was trying to explore further up the slide, his feet braced on the rubble next to Jim. His fingers feeling all along the lighting and ventilation strip in the ceiling. Looking for some way to open it.

_A child's slide on Earth is usually set at 28 degrees. This isn't quite that, I don't think, but it's probably over twenty. How long were we on the slide? Are we near the end? Is the damage all along the slide, or was it something in the next cavern? How widespread was it? Is this a weak area, and the slide collapsed?_

So many questions. Jim needed to shake it off and get into gear.

Sam had stretched up the incline as far as he could easily go. The sides were just far enough apart that he couldn't use his arms to brace himself.

"What degree is the angle?" Jim asked. He wasn't sure he trusted his own estimate.

"Of the slide?" Sam looked around him. "About 24 degrees at the dead end, I'd say."

"I noticed that the slides level out to about ten degrees before the end," Jim told him. "I think it's starting to level out at this point. We may be near the end of the slide and the final cavern."

"You noticed that?" Sam asked in surprise.

"Sure," Jim said. "I also noticed that there are some type of access panels hidden along the route. Big enough for us to get through. They're on the sides of the tubes, random locations on the straights, on the insides of some of the turns."

"You saw all that on the way down?" Sam just looked at Jim and shook his head. "And there I thought you were just having fun."

"That's fun!" Jim protested. "I notice that kind of stuff a lot. Useless 99% of the time. Never know when I'll need an edge. Help me know when the Olympic level landing was coming up."

Sam nodded and started pulling off his shoes and socks.

"Let me see how far up I can get barefoot. My shoe soles are too slick. See if I can spot anything in these flashing lights."

"A panel should be lit up, in an emergency," Jim added. "We could squeeze through them. They're square, so look for an outline of light or a spotlight on one."

"Will do. We can only hope the Pattorites think like that."

_Hope. Hope that this was local. Hope this didn't happen over a much larger area. Hope everyone else is okay. Hope that rescue is on its way._

In the blinking lights, which Jim decided was a cruel joke by evil people, he watched Sam position himself. Sam pushed his back up against the low ceiling. Even then he couldn't straighten much, but he could get enough traction with his bare feet to move up one foot at a time. Sam got about a meter back up the tube before it became too slick and too steep. He slipped, fell on his front and slid back down to Jim. Jim caught him and tried to keep him from hitting the dead end too hard.

"Didn't see anything unusual," Sam said as he turned over to look at Jim. "Just more blinking lights for a short way, and that last turn. Didn't see past that."

"Probably too close to the end. Didn't think they'd need an emergency hatch here. Could be random placement, but I think they're more along the lines of those points being close to a connecting tunnel. There are elevators, other slider tunnels. Bound to be electrical conduits, storage rooms. Maybe even roads that connect everything down here. Most of the land under every city or town on Pattor is dug out in a complex maze of tunnels. Has been for centuries."

Sam's face fell.

"Then if we're under Fallat, or near to it, there might be a lot of people trapped underground."

"Yeah," Jim agreed quietly. "There might."

_Like Bones and David. Underground conference. And maybe all our friends, my crew, doing subterranean things._

_At least, maybe the hotel is empty during the day. But if this a was a massive seismic event, Fallat could have been swallowed up in one hell of a sinkhole._

_Scotty's got the ship today. He'll know what to do. What he **can** do. And if John's on his ship, he'll be busy as well. This is a relatively crowded area of space. They put out a call, and more ships will come running._

And calling for help would only be the start. With the planet's transport blockers turned off or disabled, they could at least get people out of the upper levels. If they could get clear signals.

_But we need to get out if we can and see what's going on._

_Give them two fewer people to worry about._

"So, I guess we just need to sit tight," Sam said, looking unconvinced by his own suggestion.

"Let's see if we can get another look upstream," Jim said, pushing himself up.

"You okay?"

"Sure," Jim said. "Just needed a minute. Let me see how far up I can get. See if you can give me a boost."

Jim took off his shoes and socks as well and tried to brace his back against the ceiling and walk up. It wasn't as easy as it had looked. Sam came up behind him, doing the same, and when Jim came to that change in slope that had defeated Sam, Sam gave Jim's ass a boost. Jim was just able to see a bit of light around a panel at the inside of the curve.

"There's one there," Jim told Sam. "Just at the lower edge of the last turn. On the inside."

"Too far," Sam said with concern. "It's too slick."

"Then we make it rough," Jim said.

Jim settled in front of the debris and started picking out smaller chunks, trying to tell by weight, feel, and color in the ugly two-toned emergency lights what they were made of.

"We need to make dents in the floor, where our feet can get some purchase. Even if we can just rough it up a bit, that'll help."

Shoes back on, he stuffed his socks in a pocket. They both spent a few minutes checking out what they could use from the collapsed end of the tunnel, while trying not to dislodge anything that would bring more rock down on them.

It took them a few minutes of trial and error to find something that would make a dent in the flooring. Using a wedge-shaped piece of metal and a heavy rock they could create a dented line in the floor. The tube really was more plastic-like than metal on the inner surface, although Jim could feel a hard edge under the softer material. The slick covering was thin. It cracked and flaked away from the damaged areas, making them rougher underneath.

They started chiseling in lines about 30 centimeters across and a few centimeters apart, all up the floor of the slide for footholds. They traded places once in a while, to keep their energy up and to keep out of each other's way.

"Well, this may take a while," Sam said from behind Jim. Jim was on his knees, working on another line. "Can I ask you something? Just to make conversation. It's not really important."

Jim shrugged, then started pounding again. "Sure. I can multi-task."

_And talking will keep us from worrying about the others. And what could be going on outside._

"You and Len told us how you two met," Sam began, sounding a bit uncertain. "But... Jim... I thought Riverside would be the last place anyone in the universe would ever find you. The people I had searching for you got wind of you, here and there but--"

The idea startled Jim.

"Wait." Jim turned around. "You had people _looking_ for me?"

"Yeah." Sam nodded. "After Mom said you'd taken off from Frank's, and told her you weren't going back. Before I heard you were in Starfleet. I wanted to get back in touch with you those last couple of years but didn't know where you were. Mom never paid attention to your location when you talked to her. So, I paid some people on Earth to do some basic searches, see if I could..."

As Sam spoke, a warm feeling of joy flowed through Jim. But in his expression must have worried Sam.

"You're not upset, are you? I didn't mean to _intrude_ , Jim, I just wanted--"

" _No_ , no," Jim said quickly, turning back to the pounding. "I... I just didn't know you went looking. I guess it never occurred to me that you'd do that."

"I'm sorry I left you with that idea," Sam said with a sigh. "It's my fault. I knew where you lived, up until then. I should have kept in contact. I didn't have a lot of credits to spend on it, but the people I hired were able to track your travels through the public records for a few years before you joined Starfleet. You never stayed in one place long enough for them to catch up. Or for me to get a message to you. Your comms weren't publicly listed, and Mom was no help. Maybe she was pissed off with me or wanted to be our go-between. She wouldn't give me your comm number. At least, she ignored me when I asked for it. Changed the subject. I just assumed you told her not to pass it on to me."

"No," Jim said. "She never said anything about you trying to get in touch. And I never asked. If she had, I would have contacted you. Eventually."

Jim felt Sam's hand on his arm. "My turn?"

They traded places. Jim sat back to rest. Sam started on another line, then continued talking.

"When I'd heard about you joining Starfleet, it scared me. But I knew you must be okay. I should have tried again. But I figured you must not have any interest in talking to me. I guess I was afraid to hear it straight from you."

" _Idiot_ ," Jim said softly. "If I had known, I would have contacted you, given enough time. And maybe enough booze. Even if it was just to give you an earful, over subspace, with the conversation taking a week to play out over that distance. Yelling at you for a week might have been cathartic. I'd probably have been jumping the next passenger ship to come live with you, if I wasn't in Starfleet already."

"We'd have had your room ready. Any time," Sam said with a sigh as he pounded away. "If I only had a time machine... I'd be a hell of a lot smarter the second time around. But until you told me, I never heard that you'd gone back to Riverside. What in the world moved you to go back there? God. Last place I'd go if I ever hit Earth again."

Jim thought back to that trip. It had been a strange time for him. Like a ship lost at sea, with no anchor, no destination, and no stars to steer by.

"Mom told me she was selling the house. I was between jobs, and wanted to see it again." Jim shrugged, even though Sam wasn't watching. "The new owners had already moved in, so I didn't bother them. Just looked at it. Nothing there I wanted anyway. I had my treasures in storage. I just... just wanted to see it one last time. I think that house was the only real constant in my life. It was _always_ going to be there."

"Until it wasn't," Sam said softly.

"Until it wasn't. For me," Jim said in agreement. "But it wasn't the same house I left. I had moved on. I guess it took seeing it looking all different, older, to realize how much time had passed."

Jim smiled at the memory of that night.

"But I did do a good job at getting drunk afterward. Got into a fight at the bar. Joined Starfleet the next morning. Didn't even pack up my stuff at the hotel. Just tossed everything I had with me and checked out. Gave my cycle away. Walked onto that shuttle with a clean slate. Best thing I ever did."

"Brave," Sam said with a shake of his head. "Damned brave."

"Take after my big brother that way. New life, new start. Sometimes, it's all you have left."

"My leaving Earth didn't feel brave. It felt desperate," Sam said carefully, stopping to glance at Jim, "And not that I give a shit, but you ever hear what became of the bastard after Mom divorced him and kicked him out of the house?"

"Frank?" Jim asked. "Nope. Didn't ask. Didn't know anyone at the bar, so no temptation to ask. Why I picked a bar that far out of town."

"Just as well," Sam said as he finished up on another line.

"Just as well," Jim agreed.

"Since you're my captive audience at the moment," Sam said, throwing Jim a smirk. "I've been meaning to talk to you about something else. And now that I'm worried about everyone else out there... well... Aurelan and I have asked David to be the kid's Grandfather."

"Really?" Jim asked, surprised, yet not really surprised at all. "That's _great!_ I know Peter loves him. Robby and Winona will too. He said yes, right?"

"Mostly," Sam admitted. "He wanted to talk to you and Len, first."

"Bones will say yes to that, I'm sure," Jim said, smiling. "Why would we be against it?"

"David was worried that, somehow, we might feel Dad would be forgotten. Disrespected as the kid's biological grandfather."

"He won't be forgotten," Jim said with confidence. "Neither will Mom. I know Peter's seen all the vids about Dad. Family vids with him and Mom. And you when you were little. Knows the stories, both public and family. He probably knows Dad as well as I do."

Sam sighed at that. To Jim, it sounded as if he was pounding just a little bit harder.

"It is what it is, Sam. I'm far from the only kid in the universe that didn't get to know a parent. I'm just one of _way_ too many. No one's fault but those that killed him. And I'm glad you asked David, and he'd better say yes. He's a great guy.

"I even thought about calling him _Dad_ ' or _Pa_ when Bones and I first got married. He let me know either was fine by him. But I've known him since my days at the Academy, when he and Bones would call and talk to each other. They did that a lot. A lot more than I ever talked to Mom. At the very first, I thought it strange that David and Bones would talk so often, with Bones being a grown man and out on his own."

Jim smiled, remembering all those conversations. How much he'd laughed.

"Got to where David would ask about me if I wasn't in view, or get Bones to drag me into the conversations. Asked about me, and my classes. Wanted to get to know me. Maybe because he could tell how close Bones and I were. He cared, even then. And... well... He's _David_ to me. It just fits him better."

"Same with Victor and I," Sam admitted with a smile. "But with the kids and David, I just want my kids to have as much real family--"

" _Sam_. No need to explain," Jim said, reaching out to take Sam's arm and giving it a squeeze. "I _get_ it. And I'm glad your kids can call him _Grandpa_. Bones and I have kids someday, they'll be in great company."

They worked in silence for a while, each supporting the other as they pounded lines higher and higher up the tube. Jim kept an eye on his communicator. Nothing was getting through, and nothing was being picked up on the scans.

_Either no one's broadcasting, this area is well shielded, or the rock is just too thick. Or all of the above._

_I'm glad we can at least attempt to do something. We could be waiting on help that's not coming._

They now had grooves far up the slide, well into the steep spot

"Okay, let's give it a try," Jim said. "I'll go first."

Carefully, he climbed back up, testing the grooves before putting his weight on them.

_They could be deeper, but maybe they'll do._

When Jim got high enough, Sam reached up and put his hands on the back of Jim's calves, to help steady him and give him something to push against.

"I can see more of it!" Jim exclaimed happily. "It's _definitely_ a hatch. But the angle's too steep, we'll need deeper grooves to climb."

"How far up?"

"So close! But another a meter and a half or so and I could start work on opening it."

"Jim? If we dug some deeper footholds, and I get dug in, could you climb up on me and stand on my shoulders? It might be quicker to dig deeper for two holes for better purchase than a bunch of shallow grooves."

"Can give it a try," Jim said. "Can you toss up the chisel and the rock?"

Slowly, leaving Jim in place with his feet still planted, Sam managed to hand up the rock and the metal they'd been using as a chisel. Jim took a moment to eye the angles, picked a spot to his right. He used the rock to gouge out a bit of the slick material. Then, started slamming it in earnest. It took a few minutes, and was slow, because Jim couldn't use both hands, or unbalance himself.

After a while, Jim carefully tossed down the rock and started digging at the hole with the metal bit. That took a bit longer, and it was getting hotter. When Jim felt that he'd reached the metal behind the slide's structure, he stopped.

"One down, one more to go," Jim said as he carefully turned to the other side, looking for a good spot for the opposite foot-hold.

He realized that in spite of almost getting used to the green and purple lights, with his left eye swollen shut, he couldn't see to his left very well.

"I can get it," Sam said.

Jim relaxed and felt his way down. No use hurting himself by sliding on the new ruts.

Jim helped steady Sam as he climbed up and settled himself, then started hammering away at a new hole.

 _We'd better do this right the first time,_ Jim thought grimly, the sound of Sam's pounding echoing through the enclosed space.

_We're both getting tired, and running out of energy. Won't be too long before we'll be getting a bit dehydrated. That's not going to make the second attempt any easier._

"Okay," Sam said, panting. "I think it's deep enough. Back up for a minute, I want to try something."

Jim backed up in the tight space and Sam worked his way down.

"I'm sweaty enough to stick to just about anything," Sam said wryly as he pulled off his shirt. "Our clothing will just encourage us to slide back down."

"Good idea," Jim said, realizing Sam was right. It wasn't much, but it was something in their favor. He pulled off his own shirt. His skin felt tacky.

"Okay, big question before we try this," Sam said. "Any idea how the panels open?"

"Not really," Jim said with a shrug. "But it's lit, so it should be accessible."

"From the inside?" Sam asked worriedly. "Or is it just accessible from the outside?"

"Sam?" Jim said, looking at Sam pointedly.

"What? Oh, yeah. _We'll find out_. Shutting up now."

While Sam had started another climb up, Jim stuffed his comm in his pants pocket along with a thin bit of metal. He could use it to pry the edges of the panel if it wouldn't open. Jim took his shoes off once again and tied the laces together so he could hang the pair across his neck and down his back. He didn't want to hurt Sam on his climb up, and he could feel his way along better with bare feet. He stuffed part of his dirty shirt down the waist of his pants, to hang behind him. Sam did the same.

Jim helped Sam get into position, one foot in each of the two new holes. It took a few minutes of careful balancing, but Sam was finally ready, the fingers of one hand gripping a groove they'd made earlier. The other arm lying across the slick surface of the slide. He was now plastered across the area.

"Hold on," Jim warned. "I'm on my way up."

It was one of the toughest climbs Jim had ever made. He got up as far as he could before he grabbed onto Sam's shoulder to pull himself up over Sam's body. It helped that Jim could push his back up against the low ceiling, but it became a delicate balance of keeping himself moving upward, using Sam as a base to climb on, and not wanting Sam to lose his grip and slide down. Jim tried to keep his weight off of Sam's arms and neck. Jim even used his toes to hook into the waist of Sam's pants to help push himself up to Sam's shoulders. Then, very carefully but as quickly as he could, hearing Sam's straining noises, was able to get both feet on Sam's shoulders, and with one hand on the curve of the ceiling and one on the slide's side, managed to straighten.

And was in reach of the panel.

_Please be easy!_

Jim put his hand near the middle of the panel, which was outlined by a thin strip of recessed lighting, and pushed.

It moved back a bit and something clicked.

Jim pushed again, harder, and as if on a spring the panel popped out. The blare of an alarm pounded at his ears in the tight space.

Startled, Jim just managed to grab the loose panel before it could fall and hit Sam. It was big, but thankfully not heavy.

"Incoming!" Jim yelled over the alarm as he tossed the panel to the other side of the slide. It slid down and away.

Feeling through his feet how shaky Sam was getting with his weight, Jim immediately grabbed the lip of the opening with both hands and pulled himself up and through. Blinking his one working eye frantically, Jim tried to take in his surroundings in the darkness beyond. He twisted and dropped just more than a meter down to a flat surface. He gritted his teeth at the painful, barefoot landing, his shins complaining. The blaring sound wasn't nearly as loud in the larger space, down by the floor.

His comm didn't beep.

_Still no signal._

"I'm through, Sam! Hold on!"

There was light, but it was weak and spotty. The area seemed to be just wide enough to be a vehicle access tunnel, with the same emergency purple and green lights blinking in the ceiling. But it wasn't straight. It seemed to bend and curve on this side to come parallel with the slide just on the other side of the wall. He suspected that the random placement of the panels matched those odd places that the tunnel came close enough to the slide to make a connection. Which wouldn't be true for the whole course.

To his left, matching the collapsed spot in the slider tubes, was a wall of rubble. But at the top of the collapsed area, normal light was peeking through at the top, throwing patches further down the wall.

There were shelves on either side of him, holding all kinds of tools and equipment that looked like they'd been rattled out of their usual places. Some on the floor. Jim noticed a bundle of rope or cable near him and grabbed it. When he moved, the floor moved a bit, and he realized he was standing on a moveable platform, set flush with the floor. There was a raised stand with a control pad behind him. Jim hit the buttons that he thought might say ' _up_ ' in Pattorite. The panel he was standing on moved up toward the hatch.

 _At least they had a way to get up to the hatch from the outside,_ Jim thought thankfully.

He came head-height to the hatch opening, then let it go a bit further until he hit a few more buttons and stopped it. Untying the cable, he leaned back into the slider space, like leaning through a window.

"Grab on, Sam!" Jim yelled, seeing that Sam had once again slid back to the bottom and around the slight curve. He tossed one end of the cable down and tied the other end around his waist. He was afraid to trust anything around him to hold Sam's weight.

"Coming up!" Sam yelled back.

Jim braced himself as Sam started using the cable and the toe-holds to work his way back up to the hatch. Sam was panting and Jim almost out of energy by the time Sam was pulled through the opening and onto the lift.

They took a quick second to give each other a hug.

Sam looked around as they were lowered to ground level.

At the bottom, they both put their shoes and shirts back on.

"Up or down?" Sam asked.

"No use trying to dig further down," Jim said. "We can follow this tunnel up. However far it takes us."

"No signal yet?"

"Not yet."

Jim started up the access tunnel, and Sam followed.

"Time to find out what's going on," Jim said. "Our day may just be getting started."

 

 

***

 

 

Leonard McCoy gasped, desperate for air. Until he drew in a lungful, he hadn't been sure his head was above the surface. It was too dark to tell the difference.

Pain was flaring all over him, his heart was racing, and the cold water was sucking the warmth out of him like a vampire after blood.

He squinted through the water running down his face and tried to keep paddling.

_I'm in the canyon. Swept in. Survived the fall._

Pain flared on his right side as he moved his leg. His hip joint on that side felt bruised, and his left ankle dislocated. He'd hit or pulled something on or around his left ribcage. All his joints and muscles were sore. He tried to keep swimming but knew he was listing to his left. He felt like he had bruises all over. He was afraid the cold of the water was hiding even more damage.

_Is it night? Where are all the lights?_

_No. No, it can't be night. I haven't been in the water that long._

Here, around him, he could feel some current try to move him along. It wasn't quite pitch black. He thought he could see something hanging down from a ceiling.

As his eyes got more accustomed, he thought he saw a bit of dry shelf over to the side.

_Conserve energy. Let the current take me there._

He stopped trying to stay in place, and let the current take him closer to what he could now see was a narrow rock shelf, just above the water line. He could only see it because the layer of rock there was lighter in color and stood out from the darkness and the smothering blackness off the water. When he came near, he reached out and grabbed the shelf.

The current wasn't strong enough here to pull him away, but only because he had a good hold on it.

Twisting, still feeling no riverbed below his now bare feet, he turned to look behind him. There was a long sliver of light just above the water several meters away. He could see about a meter beyond that, where there was enough light to see the surface of the water bubbling white. On the down-river side, there was a large, narrow strip of some clear material that looked stuck in the corner of the opening. Water flowed into the bubble-shaped pocket he was in, and he watched it meander lazily by him in a circle as it brought some of the foam and bits of debris with it.

_A pocket of some kind. How far did I fall? How the hell am I alive?_

He remembered being swept out of the room. He felt fucking stupid. He should have seen that coming.

_God! I hope no one else was swept out with me! All that water, and once it filled the lower levels it would be even more forceful. More people could have been swept out when the windows popped._

_Pa!_

The thought that his father might have been swept out with him made him start to shake.

He remembered the fall, trying to twist to land feet first, arms wrapped around his head. He had been surrounded by water when he hit the river and had felt the air in his lungs forced out upon impact. He must have hit feet first, or his neck undoubtedly would have been broken. He had no idea how far the fall had been.

He remembered trying to grab something. Had held on to it as the current took him. He tried to pull himself up to the surface to breathe. He'd managed a couple of good breaths here and there as the shadowy landscape whirled by him and the roar of water overrode any other sounds. He didn't have any idea how long ago his fall had been.

_What did I grab on to?_

He looked back at the narrow opening to the river outside. That strip of clear material bobbed, and then it seemed to twist. Suddenly, it rose, twisted and was pulled away into the current outside, disappearing in an instant.

_The window material! Damned stuff floats! At least, enough to stay on top of the water. I must have hit the river next to it and grabbed on. Must have floated up and taken me with it._

_If I'd hit that on landing, I would've busted my legs up but good. Damaged my spine. Drowned._

And he still could. He was cold and getting colder.

Still hanging on to the ledge, he patted his pockets. Data badge for the conference. ID and credit chip.

_No comm! Damn it!_

_Got to get out of this water. Easier now than later._

He felt weak and knew that the _'easier now'_ part didn't mean it would be easy at all. He had messed up ribs, a messed-up hip and ankle, and maybe a hundred bruises.

_At least my lungs aren't punctured, or I'd be trying to cough up blood with the water._

_Get moving now, Leonard McCoy, or you won't be able to move at all!_

Blanking his mind, so he wouldn't think about it, he put both hands flat on the ledge, gathered himself up, and kicked hard. He pushed with his hands, using the tiny bit of force to haul his torso up and over the sharp edge.

He cried out as mind-bending pain flooded him when his ribs, hip, and ankle moved. He rolled further onto the ledge and pulled his legs out of the water. He twisted sideways and laid down.

He had to take a minute, gasping with the pain from so many places. Finally, he gathered himself and pushed up on his elbows, trying to see more in the darkness.

Looking down, he was almost surprised to see his foot still attached.

_Probably would hurt less if some river monster had eaten it. But then I'd most likely have bled out._

_Small favors, McCoy. Small favors._

His eyes were starting to become accustomed to the lack of direct light. The rock was mostly dark, with some pale layers here and there. A bit of light was coming through the low, narrow opening and showing him the water level. The ceiling was high enough he couldn't see it and dripped water into the center of the pool. He couldn't see much detail but could estimate of the size of the pocket.

_Size of a large room, but high ceiling. Doesn't look like anything has made its home here. Slab was empty and clean._

_Didn't feel anything under my feet while I was in the water. So, it's too deep for me, but maybe not deep enough for Pattor's monster fish._

_That would be good._

He lay back on his back, panting and dripping onto the flat surface under him. The rock slab was not much wider than he was. At least it was long enough he could stretch out.

He tried to diagnose his injuries without moving. He'd seen his foot, but not well. The pain could tell him a lot. He was afraid to probe the other spots too deeply.

_Rupture of all three of the lateral ankle ligaments. There are bone fractures in there. Almost ripped the damned foot off. Shouldn't move it anymore. It's going to swell up like a watermelon soon._

He knew if it got too swollen and cut off circulation, he could have tissue die and gangrene set in.

He steeled himself for the next part. Feeling at his right hip with his right hand, he kept his left arm curled against his ribs. Probing it made his leg and hip hurt deep in the socket, with the pain radiating to his groin.

_Don't think it's broken, but jammed up good and bruised. Pinched nerves. Gonna swell up as well._

Gingerly, he probed at his left side. There were some things in there that could bleed if they were all tore up. He didn't feel any sharp breaks. But the pain had him gritting his teeth and moaning.

_Ribs are bruised. Probably only a hairline fracture at the worst. Still hurts like hell, though._

_I'm alive and could be worse off, but no Olympic points for that dive._

Now that a lot of water had dripped off of him, he felt a little warmer. There wasn't any breeze to chill him, but there wasn't any sun to warm him up, either. And he wasn't trembling anymore. Either the adrenalin rush was over, or he'd gone too far into hypothermia. Since he didn't feel that cold anymore, he could only hope his body was calming down now.

He was so damned tired. And the pain was going to wear him down pretty quickly.

_I need help. No one's going to find me in here. The Enterprise can't scan down the canyons unless they're right over them. Jim or Scotty find out I'm missing, they'll know which canyon to search. But that'll be on the open river. Can they see inside pockets?_

He didn't think they could. There was still tons of rock overhead.

_They'll be looking for me. Or my body. Could be a lot of others as well. Plus, the evacuation of the hospital. And the rescue and recovery of those who were at the conference. And maybe damage on the surface. Depending on what caused the flood. Could be thousands hurt._

_The Enterprise will be busy, and may not be able to come looking for a while. So many other people to help first._

_What do I have? My clothes. My ring. My ID and credit chip._

_And time. I have all this water, so I won't dehydrate._

McCoy sighed and rubbed at his face with his hand. He felt so tired, he just wanted to sleep.

_What I don't have, is any ideas._

_I'm beginning to hate the transporters less and less._

_But where are they when I really need a ride?_

 

***

 

 

Jim strode purposefully down a main corridor of the _Enterprise_ , Sam, Scotty, and Doctor Davidson close behind him. With Doctor M'Benga in charge of the MedBay, helping to coordinate medical treatment of those injured or evacuated, Doctor Davidson had tried to get Jim to hold still long enough to scan his eye once he and Sam had stepped off the transporter. Both Sam and Jim waved him off. But Davidson could see Jim's eye and face, so was following along unhappily.

"Do it on the way," Jim had ordered. "Or in the Ready Room. Just stay out of my way."

He was exhausted, but finally getting a signal to the _Enterprise_ so they could be beamed up had given him his second wind.

_I've been gone too long already. There's too much to do._

Jim and Sam had walked up the winding access tunnel until they'd come to the previous cavern. The area was deserted. Those employees left behind after the race had moved on. While there was no power for the elevators, there were still maintenance vehicles, so Jim and Sam took one for the kilometer's long winding tunnel to the surface. Just as they ascended high enough to run across confused, huddled groups of employees, Jim's comm had buzzed. While the lower levels had lost power, the surface level still had enough to run the underground signal boosters. Once you got within their range.

Spock, who had returned to the _Enterprise_ immediately after the disaster, had filled him in while he and Sam had driven close enough to the surface to be beamed up.

The _Enterprise_ had detected four explosions altogether. The first two were almost simultaneous and had been close enough to the racing area and slider tubes to have been the cause of the collapse. The first happened at the local power station. The second was deeper, along Fallat's aqueduct system. Two more explosions, closer to Fallat, had occurred after that.

All which had diverted the underground river to the hospital.

It had flooded and was powerless.

Evacuations were still taking place from various areas that had incurred damage, including the last cavern on the racing course. There were dozens of minor injuries and seven reported deaths from the final cavern in the race. ID's were being checked to try to account for anyone missing. But many were still said to be on their way up to the surface, without anyone knowing who they were. Without power, it was a long climb.

Jim had ordered Spock to contact the Relief Response for the race course, and have them double check all the tunnels for trapped or injured individuals. He didn't say why, and Spock didn't ask. He was smart enough to figure that out.

Efforts had been made by those with shuttles with transport facilities, including the _Enterprise's_ , to go into the canyon outside the hospital area and beam people out. Some were rescued that way, but by then many had taken shelter deeper inside the complex, and they were once again blocked by the natural rock and depth problem.

Jim had been out of contact for hours. His people had done well without him.

But the missing time grated on him.

Fallat's Governing Triumvirate had immediately shut down the transport blockers, allowing any ships within range to contact and beam up their crews. And while most of the _Enterprise's_ off-duty crewmen had reported in or returned, himself included, Doctor McCoy was not one of them.

Both Jim and Sam had tried to contact Bones and David but failed.

John was now busy with the rescue efforts and grimly admitted that he had had no contact with David or Len either. And while he was damned glad Jim and Sam were okay, he and his shuttle were a bit busy. Jim let him go, knowing that John would contact them if he heard _anything_ further from the missing two.

The _Enterprise_ had beamed up patients most in danger and needing life support as they were evacuated from the hospital. Once the MedBay was full, the Rescue Services from Fallat started taking the next level of evacuees to the nearest hospitals on all the neighboring landmasses. So far, six hundred had been evacuated or beamed out of the upper levels of the hospital. Fallat's Rescue Services were working on bringing the rest either to the surface, or up high enough that the _Enterprise_ and other ships with transport capabilities could beam them up and to other locations.

At the moment there were a few hundred in the _Enterprise's_ Docking Bay, being triaged bye M'Benga and the Medteam. Those natives who were walking wounded, or with minor illnesses, would be beamed down to other locations when the _Enterprise_ was given the go-ahead. Or beamed to their ships, if they were visitors.

Spock had not waited on finding Jim to start offering Fallat's Governing Triumvirate help and then following through.

Which was exactly what Jim had expected of him and his crew.

By the time Jim reached the Ready Room, he practically burst through the doors, his mind already working at top speed.

There were various department heads there, filling the room. Everyone looked at him with worry and concern. He knew he and Sam were a dirty mess, and Jim's head injuries glaringly obvious. It didn't matter.

Jim and Scotty took the last two seats, leaving Sam to find a place to stand by Uhura, who was waiting by the door to the Bridge for orders.

He barely noticed Sam say something to Uhura before bringing up his own computer screen.

"Report," Jim ordered Spock, who was at the Ready Room table next to him, hologram up and running in the center. "I want it _all_ , from the start."

"This is a diagram of Fallat and its underground expansion, supplied by Fallat's Governing Triumvirate," Spock began, working the hologram from his seat. "Their underground system is much larger and interconnected than is shown."

The holo showed a line-drawing of the town and its underground structures. It was indeed a hollow maze of tunnels, shafts, caverns, aqueducts, and Pattorite created rooms and structures. The equivalent of a town full of multi-storied buildings, all headed down rather than up. The hospital, outside of the town proper, immediately drew the eye.

It was a skyscraper turned upside down and dominated the map. It was built on the side of the canyon and spread out away from it in sections. From the top, it looked like an open, Japanese style hand fan.

The map rotated, and Spock removed most of the town's underground businesses, residences, and working spaces. He left the hospital up and what looked to be a web of utility areas beneath Fallat and around the hospital.

The hospital diagram enlarged, and Jim saw that the level count was at 92, with level one being the second story above ground. The Pattorites counted levels down, not up.

_I knew it was big, but that's 92 levels of working hospital space! The lowest level must be near river height._

There was a circular hub, with elevators and two sets of stairs winding around it. On each level, two wings jutted out and away from the hub, and were large enough to have rooms on both sides. One wing on most of the middle levels was always parallel to the cavern wall. Jim knew those rooms would have windows to the outside, to take advantage of the view. On the next level, the canyon wing would be on the opposite side of the hub. The second wing on each level was just offset from the one above, the pattern of them going from one side then back to the other. No one hospital wing was directly over another.

It was a beautiful design.

_But how deadly?_

Jim almost startled when Doctor Davidson touched his shoulder. Jim had nearly forgotten he was there. Davidson held up a hypo, and Jim turned back to the table, arching his neck for the shot. Davidson hit him with it twice, once at his cardioid and once somewhere at the numb-ish part of his swollen eye. For a second, he felt a tingling in his temple and the roots of his teeth. The feeling was coming back. Hopefully, the swelling would be gone soon. Davidson made a motion toward his ribs. Jim waved him off.

"At three p.m., Standard time," Spock continued, centering the hologram in an area just outside the town, "there was one large explosion, here. The first."

Jim read the translated tag.

"The local power plant?" Jim asked.

"Yes," Spock replied. "Their power plant has now been completely disabled by the blast and cut off by cave-ins."

Sam came closer to the table to look over Scotty's shoulder.

"This is the main aqueduct for Fallat and the surrounding areas," Spock said.

The diagram moved again and showed a large, long, twisting tunnel, set deep underground. It moved the water along what seemed a crazy, meandering course, draining in the canyon river just above river height. Jim had seen some of that river flow just outside the racing caverns. The tunnel in the diagram turned from black to blue.

"The second explosion, only seconds later, occurred here, causing the complete blockage of the aqueduct." Spock touched his keyboard again.

A red dot appeared on the aqueduct, well before it reached the canyon. All the water that had been flowing to the canyon and its river was now blocked from doing so. The part of the tunnel beyond the red dot turned black. Waterless. The rest, still filled with water, was blue.

"Parallel to the aqueduct is an old maintenance tunnel."

Spock brought it up on the holo.

Jim saw the outline of a dead-ended tunnel that ran between the blocked aqueduct and the hospital.

"The third explosion opened up the water-filled section of the aqueduct into the maintenance tunnel." Spock touched a button. The dead-ended tunnel turned blue. "It then flooded. This brought the water flow next to the hospital."

Jim knew where the fourth explosion was going to be before the location on the holo went red.

"The fourth."

The last explosion breached the connection between the dead-end tunnel and the 53rd level of the hospital. Jim watched grimly as the blue flow pattern of water filled the 53rd floor, hit the hub and within nanoseconds was rushing down both staircases and the large elevator shaft.

Thirty-nine of the hospital's lowest levels would fill. Fast.

"There are no access tunnels out from those lower levels?" Jim asked. "Nowhere for the water to go?"

"There is one wing with canyon access on each level, from levels 12 to 84," Spock said. "There are no outside areas on the upper and lower levels where the water could drain. Various shuttlecraft have entered the canyon, and are reporting a breach of many of the windows from levels 83 on up."

"Levels 84 and below. What are they used for?"

"According to the information we have," Spock said, "Levels 76 to 87 are for convention and meeting use. Levels 88 and 89 are the hospital's computer rooms, with the rest listed as Pattorite official use only."

Jim frowned. "Research and Development?"

"I would assume so, considering the power usage in that location, and the way it has been designed to be inaccessible except through the hospital itself."

_Top secret research? Experiments? Were they doing something down there that someone wanted stopped? Or wiped out?_

_Or, were they after someone at the conference?_

_Levels 76 to 87 were used for meetings._

_Where Bones and David would have been when it happened._

"What about the ongoing conference?" Jim asked, looking at Spock. "How many have been evacuated? How far up did the floors flood before the windows gave way?"

"So far, we have contact with, or knowledge of, thirty-seven of the forty-three doctors and researchers that arrived on Pattor from the _Enterprise_. Six of those originally listed as missing are now confirmed dead. We are unsure exactly how many researchers and medical personnel the hospital was hosting, or how many ships ferried them in. The lack of power and the loss of their computer system makes the number of natives and visitors that were in attendance uncertain. Information circulated before the conference was that eight hundred conference members had registered."

"Eight _hundred_ ," Jim said softly to himself. "And rescue into the lower levels? What have we been able to do there?"

"Sir," Scotty said, raising his hand for attention. "That water is still pourin' in like Earth's Niagara Falls! There could still be groups inside, hunkered down, but we can't get to them. And they don't dare open any watertight doors and venture out. There are shuttles from the _Enterprise_ , and various other ships, in the canyon now, keeping an eye on the water flow out of the hospital windows. Watching for anyone trying to make their way out. But, frankly, they'd be daft to try if they're not drowned already. The force of the flow would knock most species down and outside if they weren't strong enough to hang on and fight that kind of current."

"The fall could be fatal to many species," Spock said, a touch of grimness in his eyes.

"And the aqueduct's flow has not been stopped already, because...?" Jim asked everyone at the table.

"Because their underground water complex was designed to _continually_ flow water to the canyon rivers," Scotty said with a shake of his head. "There's nae any shut-off valves anywhere down the line. Just different routes, like when they re-route a few drops for the underground races. But that area has no alternate routes."

"And if we were to collapse the tunnel in between? Here?"

Jim indicated a point on the diagram, between the hospital and the aqueduct.

"It would back up pretty quickly," Scotty said. "And flood residential areas in Fallat. That's why the Governing Triumvirate hasn't done so yet. They've already lost the hospital. They don't want to flood the local underground residences, schools, and businesses as well."

Jim studied the diagram. He startled when Sam touched his arm.

"Here," Sam whispered, sliding a plate of small sandwiches next to Jim's computer keyboard. Uhura handed Sam a glass of water and Sam set that down as well. "Eat."

Jim was about to snap and say, _'Not while I'm working,_ ' but he realized Sam was right. His fumes had just about run out. He needed to stay sharp. Everyone watched him.

"Anything else to add?" Jim asked everyone at the table.

"We are in constant communication with the Fallat's Governing Triumvirate," Uhura said. "They have expressed their gratefulness for our help in all matters, and will be open to any further help or suggestions we can provide."

"Good," Jim said. "We'll need their cooperation to solve this problem. Anyone else have anything pressing to report? Anything we should be doing, but aren't?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Okay, back to stations, except Scotty, Uhura, and Spock," Jim ordered. "Any new information or change in any situation, report to Spock or me. As usual. But don't wait for our approval if lives are at stake."

As everyone started to leave Jim suddenly realized he'd been looking out of both eyes for a few minutes now, and hadn't noticed.

"Guys," Jim said to Spock and Scotty. "We need to get that water stopped, out of the way, _now_. We need to get into those lower hospital levels. What do we have on board that can help, and where do we use it? What can we beg, borrow or steal if we don't have it ourselves?"

Spock and Scotty went back to studying the diagram. Scotty started poking at places. They then began comparing notes, quietly.

"Doctor Davidson?"

"Yes, Captain?" Davidson was still hovering.

"You have a quick fix for these sore ribs?" Jim asked with resignation. He knew he would think better with the nagging pain gone.

"Just a couple of minutes, Captain," Davidson answered hopefully.

"Fine, you have them. Sitting or standing?"

"Standing," Davidson said with relief. "Raise your shirt, please."

Jim stood by his chair, rucked up his shirt with that arm and leaned away, then reached for a sandwich with the other. Sam had taken over an empty seat and was sitting at the table next to Jim, with his own food. Uhura sat next to him. Jim didn't feel so bad about taking the time to eat as long as he wouldn't be eating alone. The cold tip of the hypo pressed in on his ribs and hissed. He felt the painful pressure of the hypo infusion, and instantly Jim's bruised ribs were feeling warm, tingly, and a lot less painful.

"That's great, Doctor," Jim said to Davidson. "You can go now."

"Sir." Davidson nodded and left.

Jim started eating, trying to down his food quickly.

"Still no word?" Sam leaned over to ask Uhura quietly, but so Jim could hear.

She shook her head.

"I've got every channel we can get from Fallat online," Uhura began, "the neighboring towns and villages, the ships on the ground, and those in orbit are opened and constantly monitored. All my people are listening."

_Everyone listening, yet neither Bones nor David has made contact._

Sam glanced at Jim, his expression grim.

" _Hope_ , Sam," Jim said quietly, setting down his sandwich. He really wasn't hungry anymore. "Hold on to that. Both hands. Sometimes, it's all we have."

Sam blinked, taking that in. He nodded. Then, carefully, as if trying it on, he gave Jim a wry smile.

"Len's been in cramped quarters before, during disasters," Sam said. "I expect he's getting good at it."

Jim shook his head, he tried to smile back.

"You have _no_ idea," Jim said, thinking back on the past. "I can't leave him alone in a tunnel for a minute without him getting lost or swallowed up."

"And he has David to keep an eye on him," Sam reminded him.

" _Two_ McCoy's can out-stubborn anyone, even disaster," Jim admitted.

"John Grimm has left several messages," Uhura said, leaning across the table toward Jim. "He's been worried sick about everyone, but is on his shuttle and is in the canyon now. Watching for people trying to escape that he can help rescue. He's also..."

Uhura paused. "He's also been picking up bodies out of the water. Eight so far. All ID'd as people from the conference."

_None of them Bones or David, or I'd know by now._

Uhura stood up. "Now, I'd better get back and see what's been going on while we were in the meeting."

Jim nodded tiredly at her.

Spock and Scotty were quietly debating now, turning the hologram back and forth, discussing options.

Sam turned to look back at Jim. He leaned in.

" _I_ may not be the boss of you anymore," Sam began, nodding at Jim's plate, "but I know who _is_. You need to finish your dinner. Because if you don't, I'll tell your husband, as soon as he gets back. _He_ may have some words with you about trying to run on empty."

Jim looked down at his sandwiches. He knew Sam was right, but he'd lost his appetite. He picked one up and bit into it anyway.

" _Snitch_ ," Jim accused around a mouthful.

"When I need to be," Sam admitted. "But explosions? Purposefully set? Who did it, and _why_?"

"We get the rescue and recovery done, those are the next big damn questions I'm going to start asking," Jim said. "I know all my people, and the government down below, are wondering the same thing. My people will be looking for clues along with the recovery issues. We find out, we'll help nail the bastards."

"Captain?" Scotty said, getting Jim's immediate attention. "I think we have an idea, but not necessarily the equipment."

Jim put down his food, stood, and walked over to that side of the table.

"Show me."

 


	3. Chapter 3

***

Chapter Three

 

 

Leonard McCoy struggled to open bleary eyes. The pain had woken him up.

_I was asleep? That wasn't the plan._

He hadn't intended to fall asleep. But he'd been so drained he must have nodded off in the darkness. His ankle felt like someone had shoved a softball between his ankle bones, and the pain was like a slow burning fire. His hip ached, and felt swollen and locked up. And something was wrong, deep in the left of his torso. Breathing hurt.

 _Everything_ hurt.

Turning his head toward the low opening, he saw that whatever sunlight had filtered down to the bottom of the canyon was gone. It could be late afternoon or midnight. The roaring sound of rushing water right outside his safe pocket didn't make a trip outside seem like a good idea.

_Should have done something while my limbs were still loose, and mobile. Everything is stiff and feels locked up. I try to swim for it now, I'll drop straight to the bottom. Or wherever the currents feel like dragging me._

_What would Jim do?_

He firmly believed that if Jim were here, he'd find a way to make all that cold water feel like a soothing hot tub, the rocks around them would glow, and he'd have a panic button under his right hand. But he wasn't Jim, and Jim wasn't here, and if he started even thinking about his Pa being hurt or being in danger as well, he was going to get upset and-he-couldn't-afford- _to-get-emotional-because- **damnit**_ _!_

"Stop!" he said out loud, throwing his hand over his eyes. His voice echoed all around him.

"Get a grip, for heaven's sake, _Doctor_. You're tired, in pain, have low blood sugar, and you're talking to yourself. All not so good things. Good things are that you can drink all the water you want, it's 100% compatible with your system, so you can live quite a long time. I'm cool, but not cold. So, shouldn't freeze to death outside of the water. I'm not in the water, so I'm not drowning or being eaten by the river monsters. And things can only get _better_ from here. I don't know how to make those things happen, at _this_ moment, but maybe they'll come to me any minute now."

He took a deep breath.

_Okay. Panic over. That helped._

With his eyes closed, his hand still over them, a small speck of light peeked through.

_What? Oh!_

Moving slowly, he spread his fingers and opened his eyes.

As she had on all the other dark night's he'd seen her, Bell hovered silently. Her soft, warm glow filled the small cave.

"Bell?"

_Did she feel my panic attack? Is that why she's here?_

She flew closer to him, and he raised his hand, offering a finger.

She seemed hesitant to come much closer.

**[papa, unhappy]**

"Papa needs help, Darlin'," McCoy tried to think of how to ask for that help.

And what kind of help to ask for.

Before he could think of anything, Bell disappeared.

"Damn!" McCoy swore under his breath.

_Don't get angry! You'll scare her. Maybe she'll come back. Somehow, I need to get a message to Jim. Hell, to anyone on the ship._

_Come back, Bell. Papa needs one of those legendary acts your kind preforms, for the blessed children._

_Be Papa's Magic Dragon._

He tried to think about how to use Bell's help to his advantage.

_She can get a message to Jim. Tell him I'm here? Or, at least, alive. I must be missing by now. Then we can figure out how to communicate my location._

A minute later, Bell reappeared.

_Good girl!_

She seemed to be carrying something, but he couldn't make out what it was. She flew closer and he held his hand palm up.

Softly, she dropped down, and something small and squishy fell into his palm.

**[papa, hungry]**

McCoy picked it up with his other hand and brought it up to his nose. It smelled like food.

"What?" McCoy asked.

Flickers of visions flashed across his mind. A dark room. Plates and serving dishes with the small remains of meals on them. All in a pile.

_From the restaurant? Dirty dishes?_

_Should I eat it? Let her think she did a good job?_

_Or not eat it, and tell her I need more?_

He didn't have any problem eating it, whatever it was, if he needed to. If it meant Bell would keep helping him. But he was afraid that she'd leave for good if she thought he was now happy.

He put the bit of food on his chest and sighed, concentrating on sending her the feelings of need and helplessness.

It wasn't hard.

Bell seemed to get more agitated, jerking side to side as she hovered.

**[papa, unhappy, pain]**

He could feel her concern now that she realized he was more than just hungry.

"I need your _sibling,_ Bell," McCoy said. "I need you to... to..."

_What can I give her to take to Jim? She can't carry a direct message. She can't carry much weight._

_Wait! I've got something._

He tried to take his wedding ring off, but his fingers were too swollen.

Then he remembered something else.

Carefully he dug his credit chip out of his pocket. It was square, light and the size of his thumbprint. It was a Federation style, standard credit chip, that would only work with his thumbprint, DNA and blood type that the tiny circuits could check every time he wanted to transfer credits to anyone. Limited amounts could be put on it, or he could access his main Starfleet account at a registered machine that would ask for even more identification. Anyone finding it, or stealing it, would have a lot of trouble hacking it. But Jim could identify it, as they shared accounts and chips.

He put the chip flat on his palm.

"Bell? Take this to Jim. _To Sibling_. Help him come here. To me. I need him to come here to me."

Bell hovered, hesitating.

McCoy closed his eyes and tried to send her a mental image of Jim getting the card. Of Jim arriving in the cave. Of how happy he would be. How much she could help.

She seemed to understand. Fluttering over silently, she landed on the chip, her feelers inspecting it. Her appendages testing its weight.

Then she jumped up, with the credit chip in her grip, and disappeared.

_Yes!_

But he instantly tried to tamp down in his elation. If she sensed he was happy, she could forget to give the chip to Jim.

He wasn't sure how trustworthy her memory was.

"Just get it to him," McCoy whispered in the darkness. "Then Jim can work his miracles from there. He just needs a clue."

Then, something came to him, like a punch in the gut.

He didn't _know_ where Jim was. Or Sam. Or anyone.

_What if they all got caught up in this as well? What if the whole town is flooded? The races? They're underground._

He felt stupid then.

And no longer needed to worry about having to pretend to be panicked for Bell's sake.

Now he really was.

 

***

 

 

Jim, Sam, and John Grimm stood in the _Enterprise's_ Docking Bay, watching impatiently as Scotty and Spock worked on finishing the alteration of John's hovercycle. Having come straight to the Docking Bay after contacting John, Jim and Sam still looked a mess in their civilian clothing. At least Jim's ribs were feeling better, and the swelling around his eye had gone down to almost nothing. He knew he still had a shiner, though, from the glimpses he'd gotten in some of the shuttle's mirrored surfaces as he passed by.

 _This has **got** to work, _Jim thought. _It's been hours since the hospital was flooded. The sun is going down. There's no telling how long the survivors can hang on._

After contacting the Triumvirate with their plan, and getting approval, the next problem had been finding a way to implement it. They needed an anti-grav platform that wasn't too large, could be remote controlled, could take the weight of the additions _and_ the extra power supply, _and_ could be put together quickly.

The _Enterprise_ hadn't had anything on hand that fit the bill. But because of John's bragging the night before, Jim knew where they could find the perfect vehicle to modify.

"Now, just to make sure I understand," John said as he watched as his two-person cycle was being transformed in front of their eyes into a dangerous bomb-plasma drill combination. "I take this ticking time-bomb with me on my shuttle, to the canyon. Let it loose, aim it at the exact coordinates you've given me, then turn it on. And it'll drill through all that rock, to the main aqueduct, then blow up."

"In a nutshell," Jim agreed.

Scotty's voice came out from under the hovercycle. "Just make _sure_ that once ye place it against that wall, ye get the hell out of the way!"

"Because...?" John asked.

"Because the force of the water blast, out of the tunnel, could knock you out of the sky," Jim said.

"And the _Enterprise_ just can't drill down itself, from orbit, because...?" John prodded.

"The many layers of subterranean living quarters," Spock began, eyes on his delicate tools as he continued his work on the jury-rigged plasma drill, "along with numerous utility tunnels, and other underground support for Fallat's management, makes it impossible to make contact with the aqueduct at the required angle from orbit."

"You have to come at it sideways," John translated. "Or you nick something important."

Spock started to say something, thought better of it, and threw John a look that he usually saved for Bones.

"Yes."

Jim gritted his teeth and fought down a flash of panic.

_Bones will be okay. He'll argue with Spock again. David will be there to cheer him on._

Sam, who had been standing quietly, put his hand on Jim's shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

Jim glanced at Sam, then nodded before he turned back to John.

"There's only one clean way to get that water diverted without flooding more areas," Jim told John. "If we've programmed it right, and you can keep it under control, it'll burn a tunnel up to a sharp turn of the aqueduct. The hovercar's programming will leave just enough rock between the new tunnel and the aqueduct to last for a few minutes. Then it'll burn another forty meter long tunnel parallel to the aqueduct, downstream. It will then attach itself to the wall against the aqueduct, and blow."

"Create a thin spot just inside the new tunnel," John said. "Collapse the aqueduct further down, and dead-end it. All that water pressure will pop that weak spot like a cork from a bottle. It all gushes straight to the canyon from the new tunnel. It doesn't get backed up, or flood a new area that could cause a collapse of the town. _Good_ plan."

Scotty pulled out from under the cycle, dusting off his hands.

"Ye'll have to be careful," Scotty said casually, nodding toward the hovercycle. "But it shouldn't blow up before ye get it in place."

" _Shouldn't_?" John repeated, giving Scotty a disbelieving look.

"Ach, you'll be fine," Scotty said, looking unconcerned. "Just don't bump it around, unnecessarily."

"Yeah. Okay," John replied, clearly not wholly convinced.

"It won't fit in our shuttles," Jim said. "But it'll fit back into yours, even with all the extra equipment. We _can_ have someone else--"

" _Don't_ say it," John growled. " _My_ hovercraft, _my_ shuttle, _my_ family. I'm going. I like to be _well informed_ is all."

"It's ready," Spock said, straightening up and stepping away from the hovercraft.

It now looked lethal, to use and to move. But, hopefully, the answer to their first problem, getting the water to flow somewhere else than into the hospital.

John leaned over and put an arm around Jim's shoulder, giving him a half hug. Sam came around Jim to give John's arm a squeeze.

John gave them both a smile, then let Jim go to start striding toward his shuttle.

"Get it loaded, Kid, then get everyone out of that canyon. I've got a plasma drill and a bomb to play with, and I'm going to have _fun_ with it."

Jim nodded at Scotty to start loading the hovercraft onto the _Restore._ Scotty's men moved in and carefully moved the hovercycle to the _Restore's_ open bay.

"Spock, with me. We need to get back to the Bridge." Jim turned to Sam as they walked toward the exit. "We need to make sure everything's ready by the time John gets into place."

"Where do you want me?" Sam asked, following them. "What can I do?"

Ever since they'd arrived on the _Enterprise_ , Sam had stuck close to Jim. He appreciated that more than he could say.

"Stay with me, but out of the way. Be ready in case I need you to do something," Jim replied. "On the Bridge, stay close to my chair. The Bridge Crew will ignore you. Let them."

"You got it."

"Lieutenant Uhura has been coordinating with the Triumvirate to inform all ships in the area to vacate the canyon," Spock said. "All those who live or work in, under, over, or in any proximity to the projected blast zone are being evacuated. Should this go wrong, there should be no new casualties."

"But possibly more destruction," Jim said grimly, entering a lift. He set the control for the Bridge. Jim closed his eyes for a moment, listening to Sam.

"I think this will work," Sam said as the lift started up. "It's brilliant. The--"

 Jim gasped in surprise as he was suddenly shoved hard, back against the lift wall.

Shocked, Jim saw that it was Sam pinning him against the lift wall, his hand on the middle of Jim's chest. Sam was looking up, eyes wide.

Jim grabbed at Sam's wrist.

"Stop," Spock ordered Sam gently, but firmly. "There is _no_ danger."

Looking up, Jim saw Bell. Eerily silent, as always, she was hovering over them. She must have appeared in front of his face after he'd closed his eyes.

Jim gave Sam's wrist a squeeze.

_No wonder he was startled. She does that to people._

"She's a _friend,_ " Jim whispered.

Sam relaxed a bit, and Jim gently pushed his hand away. Then he held up his own hand, palm up.

"She's carrying something."

**[papa, unhappy, sibling, come]**

A credit chip was dropped into Jim's palm.

He knew whose it was. He'd check, but he already knew.

_He's alive! Maybe I can get her to lead us to him. Or take something to him, so he'll know we're on the way. That we have a plan._

"What _is_ it?" Sam asked, sounding uncertain and wary.

"Later," Jim said sharply. He held up the credit chip. "Spock, I need a tracker. Not too big, or too heavy. About this size and weight. Long range. Now."

The turbo lift doors opened on the Bridge level. Jim hit the controls that would leave the door open and freeze the lift with his free hand, eyes on Bell. Spock rushed off the lift. Sam stayed, watching.

Jim concentrated on his message to her.

**[wait, papa, gift]**

Bell's response was annoyed and angry.

**[pain! now!]**

_Pain._

Jim tried to ignore that part of her message, concentrating on his own.

**[helping, wait!]**

Jim watched Bell closely. She seemed to be waiting for him to do something. She didn't directly communicate anything, but he could feel that she was agitated and concerned.

"She's a Drammonden Dragon," Jim told Sam softly. "She considers Bones her papa. He took care of her egg before she hatched. Bones sent his credit chip with her, letting us know he's alive. I need to see if she can take a tracker to him. She's telepathic, so I can talk to her. In a rudimentary way."

"How does she do that?" Sam asked softly, eyes still on Bell. "Pop in and out?"

"We have no idea," Jim admitted. "We can't figure out a way to catch her and find out."

As if she knew she was being talked about, she turned to study Sam.

"She's intelligent, but not high on the scale," Jim said. "She's vegetarian, as far as we know."

Spock came to the lift door, moving slowly so Bell wouldn't be startled.

Spock silently handed Jim a small, wafer-like object. It was the same size as the credit chip, but with a small lump of embedded electronics in the center. Small and waterproof.

Jim held it up to her, centered in his palm. He tried to flash her scenes of her taking it to Bones.

**[papa, gift, help]**

She must have understood, because she darted down, grabbed the tracker and disappeared.

Jim took a deep breath.

_Hang on, Bones, David. We should be there soon._

Just as he was headed out, Uhura came up to the lift.

"Everyone's been evacuated," Uhura reported. "John's in place. The Triumvirate report that all rescue services are ready. M'Benga is on standby, as are all of our shuttles, on board and on the ground."

Jim nodded and headed toward the Bridge, letting the three follow him in.

"Let's get this done."

 

 

***

 

 

McCoy gritted his teeth against the pain and positioned his body to roll to the side. Everything in him told him that moving was a bad idea, but he was getting dehydrated. He had plenty of water around him. He just needed to move to get to it.

His ribs and hip complained. Loudly. His ankle, which was swollen, was screaming. Rolling close to the ledge edge, he took a large gulp of water, then fell back before swallowing.

It tasted a little like rock and a lot like chlorophyll and decayed plant life.

_That should do for a while. I don't want to get dehydrated, but I also don't want to have to think about a full bladder yet. Pissing in my drinking water isn't my first choice. But there isn't much room in the other direction. It'd just all come back on me._

While the current would pull out any debris he'd leave, it wasn't something he wanted to have to do.

It was actually a luxury to think he'd be able to turn to either side and not wet himself.

But it was a goal he actually thought he could achieve.

Unless he had more internal injuries than he realized. The biggest complainers, body wise, weren't always the ones needing drastic action when damaged.

But he wasn't dead yet, so there was some hope.

 _Where did she go?_ McCoy wondered. _Can she find him? How far does she have to travel, in that other dimension?_

Even before this thought had time to jell, Bell appeared above him.

**[papa, sibling, help]**

She fluttered down, and he tried to raise his hand. She dropped something onto his chest and fluttered up again.

_What is it? Is it my chip?_

He couldn't see it very well in the dark, but it felt different. A similar shape, weight, and size, with a round, marble-like lump in the center.

_Not my chip. Nor is it medical, for pain. Some kind of sensor, or tracker?_

Bell fluttered again, and McCoy got the impression she was pleased with herself.

She'd helped, and she knew it.

Then, Bell and her light were gone.

McCoy sighed. He was exhausted.

_Maybe it's time for another nap._

Clutching the small device in his hand, he tried to relax and rest.

Or, at least, not panic again. That took energy.

He needed to save up for a good freak out in case he needed to call Bell again.

He sighed and closed his eyes.

 

***

 

 

Jim sat in his Captain's chair, watching the main vidscreen like a hawk. Every cell of him wanting, needing, to be down on the planet.

Sam's hand on his shoulder squeezed, letting him know that Sam shared his anxiousness.

John's shuttle was in place. One of the _Enterprise's_ was not too far above, watching the scene. There were no other shuttles in the canyon itself, but many were waiting at higher levels. The bridges had been evacuated and closed, as well as all the buildings that were near the blast area. Watching the screen as everyone settled into place, Jim had gotten glimpses of the hospital windows draining a massive flow of water down the cliff. Some looked as if the amount of water must be coming ceiling high from the rooms inside. Some of the higher levels looked as if the water could be thigh or waist high. There were many windows on both sides that had kept their seal, the remaining water not having enough force to pop them out once the other windows gave way.

Or, no one had been left alive after the initial flooding to force them out.

Jim squeezed his fist, feeling Bones's chip carefully protected in the center.

_Hours. It's taken us hours to get this far._

Behind him, Uhura was in contact with the Governing Triumvirate of Fallat. Everyone had gone quiet once the handmade drill had started burning out rock from the canyon cliff.

"We're being hailed by Captain Grimm," Uhura announced. "Vid stream attached."

"Split screen," Jim ordered.

One side of the screen showed the view from the nose of John's shuttle. In front of him was a round hole twice the diameter of the modified hovercycle. Deep inside Jim could see the glow of the plasma beam slowly evaporating rock and earth.

"It's getting close to the target area," John said over the link. "But its programming isn't reading the surrounding area right. I think there's too much rock around blocking the signals it needs to keep oriented. I need to keep in line with it to keep it informed of its position. It can use me as its north pole."

" _Exactly_ how close are you, John?" Jim asked. He looked much too close to the new tunnel for Jim's comfort.

When John told him, he frowned.

"Can you backup a bit?" Jim asked. "You don't want to be hovering too close when the water breaks the barrier."

"I can go straight up in a nano-second," John said. "Over the stream."

Scotty, who had been watching them from the Engineering station spoke up.

"That's more than a wee bit o' water, at that pressure. It could blow a large chunk of rock off the outer end of the new tunnel as it comes out. Like the exit wound from an old-style projectile."

"Not worried about it," John said distractedly.

 _But I am,_ Jim thought with a sigh.

The glow from deep inside the newly created tunnel blinked out.

"It's gone as deep as the programming told it to go," John announced. "Burning the parallel tunnel now. Signals gonna get bad pretty quick here."

"It's not going that far in," Jim said. "Just far enough downstream to block off the tunnel."

"He's losing the signal," Scotty confirmed. "About two minutes before the hovercycle loses contact with the _Restore_."

"Can we trust it to finish its programming once it's out of touch?" Jim asked Spock, who was watching from his station.

"The probabilities are high that it will work as programmed," Spock said. "All indications are that it will attach itself to the correct area and detonate."

The next minute seemed to last forever.

"Signal's hanging on," Scotty said.

Spock started the countdown.

"Detonation, in five... four..."

"Pull up, John!" Jim ordered.

The view from the _Enterprise's_ shuttle showed the _Restore_ shoot straight up.

"One."

The blast happened right on time. While the data showed on the vidscreen, Jim could see the ground over the blast site, almost half a kilometer away from the canyon, rise and fall. Puffs of dirt flew up into the air.

The blast of water from the canyon end of the new tunnel was huge, and hunks of canyon wall were blown out with it. The stream made it most of the way across that portion of the canyon, then died back to a roaring waterfall as the pressure was eased.

"The water has been successfully diverted," Spock announced. "All water flow to the hospital has been stopped."

Sam, hand on Jim's shoulder, gave him a congratulatory shake.

"Uhura, inform the Triumvirate, then Doctor M'Benga. I want all shuttles but ours to stay away from the area, but on call. Let ours get in first and see if we can get rescuers in those windows. There are more than enough levels needing everyone to pitch in, once we get a closer look."

Jim turned his chair. "Scotty, get our shuttles as close to all the window openings as they can get. Upper levels should drain first. Let's get our rescue teams in there and working as soon as each floor's water flow drops. Spock, I want you to collect all information our teams may be gathering by scanners as they look for survivors."

Everyone acknowledged their orders and went to work.

"John?" Jim asked, seeing John's screen was still up.

"Still here."

"You get any signal from Doctor McCoy's tracer?"

"No." John's voice held the same disappointment it'd had earlier. All while getting into place, John and the _Enterprise's_ shuttles had been searching for any signal from the tracker he'd given Bell. Everyone nearby was scanning for it.

Jim saw Spock frown at the information.

_Maybe she hasn't gotten it to him. Maybe she's lost it somewhere in between._

_It's probably jammed, like everything else._

_Hoping we would pick up a signal before we could get into the hospital was a long-shot, anyway._

_Once our teams get inside, they should hear it._

Sam squatted down beside Jim's chair, like Bones usually did for private conversations.

"Almost there, Kid," Sam said. "We'll get them out soon."

Jim just nodded.

_I just hope it's soon enough._

_Please, let it be soon enough._

***

 

 

Jim and Sam waited in the MedBay for M'Benga to finish examining David McCoy.

A rescue team had found David, huddled at the back of a conference room, away from the windows, with thirty other doctors and research specialists. They had been perched on tables and counters, trying to keep out of the cold water that had followed them into the back room when they'd forced the door open.

Bones had not been with them.

David had told the first responders on the scene that Leonard had been swept out with the first window that broke away.

David had then been evacuated to the _Enterprise_ with the others and was now being seen in a private room in the MedBay.

Spock had volunteered to keep an eye on the rescue effort. Jim had taken him up on the offer, even if it was only long enough to talk to David himself.

Jim knew that everyone was still listening for that tracker, while they were busy rescuing the survivors.

And still... nothing.

"You said that Bell indicated that he was alive," Sam said quietly, standing close to Jim.

"Maybe. Probably." Jim sighed and rubbed at his eyes. He was still gritty with dirt from being in the slider collapse. "Bell doesn't think like us. She's more intelligent than an Earth insect or most mammals, but not like a human."

"He did send his credit chip."

"Or, she found it on him. And it was the only thing she could bring me. I don't know if she can differentiate a dead human body from a sleeping one."

"Jim," Sam said sadly.

"I _know_ ," Jim said, giving him a shrug. "I have _hope_ , Sam. I just have to be prepared, as well. I can't help but think it through."

Sam nodded and moved to put his hand on Jim's back. Jim leaned into it for a second.

M'Benga, looking tired and stressed, came out of the hallway, straight to Jim and Sam.

"He's exhausted, a bit dehydrated, and bruised up pretty badly in a couple of places," M'Benga said. "But he'll be fine. I've reduced the bruising, but need to move on to some other patients. We'll work on the rest of the bruising as soon as we get more patients settled. You can see him. He's asking for you."

M'Benga turned and left, heading for another patient who was being brought in on a gurney.

Jim and Sam started down the hall. They could see David through the window, talking to a nurse.

When they entered the room, David turned to look at them.

He looked haunted. Frantic, but controlled, as all his training through the years had taught him to be. He had some small bruises on the side of his head. One on the bit of shoulder Jim could see under the top of the medical drape. A few on his arms. The rest of him was neatly tucked in under blankets.

"I couldn't _stop_ him," David said to both of them as they came up to his bed. "I tried!"

Jim signaled the nurse to leave the three of them alone. He walked up to David and took his hand. Sam came up behind Jim, hand on his shoulder.

"I _know_ you did, David," Jim said, squeezing his hand. "We've had some hope, but we haven't found him yet. What happened?"

David sighed, closing his eyes.

"I feel like such a damned fool. Should have realized that when we popped that window out that the water pressure would sweep him out."

"He got the window open?" Jim asked.

"His idea," David said, pride behind the regret in his voice. "Kept his head. Showed us medical types how to get the doors open to the rooms with the windows. Had the idea to break the windows open, spread the word down the corridor. Everyone started in. He tried to bust the window out, but it was too strong. An Andorian and a Jen'eri knew that breaking the frame would be quicker. Those who were stronger and could get to a window started pounding the shit out of the frames. Water was coming up almost waist high to me when the first window popped out. The whole panel. Leonard... Leonard was right next to it when it just exploded out..."

David's breath hitched, and Jim rubbed the back of David's hand with his thumb.

David took a breath. "Took his feet right out from under him, washed him right out. Gone in an instant."

No one said anything for a moment. David closed his eyes. Jim held on to him.

"Should'a _seen_ that coming," David continued, fighting for control. "Obvious, looking back on it. I tried to get to him, and almost got pulled out myself. Water started rushing out the window and was pulling me along with it. Everyone in the room scrambled back, someone strong grabbed me. Somehow, a few of us got to the corridor while the other's kept banging on the frames. The water level had started to drop once the first window was out, but those still fighting the windows were careful to hang on to something when their windows went. They saw what happened to Leonard. We didn't lose anyone else from that room, but I don't know about the others down the hall."

"They said they found you in a back room," Jim said softly. "With the others."

"Once they'd gotten all the windows in the room out, we hunkered back at the end of the corridor. Still knee deep, but no current. Water was mostly pulled into the canyon-side rooms and out the windows. But when we'd try to get back to the windows ourselves, we found the current far too strong. We didn't dare try to get out that way, we were all getting too tired. We opened a door in the back, away from that side. Filled with water once we forced it open, but there were tables, cabinets, and chairs. Dark as hell that far back, but we could get mostly out of the water and wait for rescue. It seemed like an eternity."

"We've had a sign from him," Jim said gently. "That he's alive, somewhere. We might be able to track him down, any minute now."

"How?" David asked suddenly looking hopeful. "His comm?"

"No." Jim smiled. "Your son was adopted by a small, mammal-like life form that considers him her papa. She seems to be able to pop in and out of our reality, at will. She went to him, where ever he is, and brought back his credit chip. We got her to take him a small tracking device. At least, we gave it to her, and she disappeared. But... we haven't gotten a signal from it yet."

"Mammal-like?"

"Her name is _Bell_ ," Jim said, "and at first glance she looks like a flying, white caterpillar. She glows. She's fond of him, in her way. She _was_ trying to help."

"Where did...? _He_ named her, right?"

Jim nodded.

David's smile was thin, and a bit fragile. "Let me guess. _Tinker Bell_?"

"Yeah," Jim admitted with a tired smile.

"That's my boy, all right. Always loved that story. He..." David's voice broke.

He squeezed Jim's hand. Hard. Then David took a big breath.

"That boy's got a strong will to live," David said. "Like you and Sam do. I see you both must've been in the midst of it yourselves. I'm more grateful than I can say to see you're _both_ here and _safe_."

"You know we'll never stop looking," Sam said gently. "You _know_ that."

"I know. And I know you'll all try your hardest, like I tried mine. That has to count for _something_."

David sighed, then relaxed back onto the pillow and closed his eyes. He looked tired and worn past his endurance.

The nurse rapped on the door frame behind them. Jim turned.

The nurse came up to Jim and said quietly, "He's exhausted. He needs to sleep."

"I can _hear_ you," David said with a tired huff. Then he opened his eyes and looked at Jim and Sam. "Get back to work, you two. Find my boy."

"Will do, David," Sam said, turning to the door.

"Get some rest, _Grandpa_ ," Jim said, putting David's hand down at his side.

David looked up at him in surprise. "Sam told you?"

"Yeah, he did. And I'm great with it, David. Enjoy it."

"I plan to," David said quietly, his eyes sliding shut again. "Just find my boy and bring him home. _Please_."

Jim leaned down and gave David a kiss on his temple, then turned and left David with the nurse.

 

***

 

 

When McCoy woke up again, he knew something was wrong. Worse than before. His mind was fuzzy, and he felt nauseous.

_What time is it? How long did I sleep?_

He could still feel the tracker in his fist.

_Where the hell is everybody? Where's Jim?_

He turned his head to look at the long, low opening to the outside. It was pitch black.

Everything hurt. Badly. But something had changed. His left shoulder hurt, down his side and through his chest.

Placing the tracker carefully on the center of his chest, he used that hand to feel along his left side.

_Shit. Must be my spleen. A hematoma or small bleed._

_This could get really bad if I'm bleeding into my abdominal cavity._

_I could be dead when they find me. I **know** they're looking. All this damned rock over me must be masking the tracker's signal. Bouncing all around the inside of this rock pocket, doing shit for me._

_It could only be minutes before they find me. Could be hours._

_I probably don't have hours._

_What the hell do I do?_

Really, he knew what he needed to do. He needed to get the tracker out from under this mass of rock and let its signal reach help. There was only one way to do that, and that was to take it back into the river. Himself. Go back into the water, swim under the opening.

And that meant moving, getting back into the cold water, and not drowning.

It was going to hurt. He may not be able to take it. And he was already out of energy.

_What choice do I have? This is only going to get worse._

_If they find me dead in the water, at least they'll know I died trying._

He knew that human tissue wouldn't stop the tracker's signal. Not even his bones. There would be ships in the canyon, probably a lot of them, rescuing those in the hospital. If he failed, he could get snagged on rocks, go over a waterfall, get swept into another pocket. Have his clothes ripped off of him. He couldn't afford to get separated from the tracker. For any reason.

He brought the tracker up to his mouth, took a breath, and swallowed it.

The corners were sharp as it went down. But he managed to do it.

Then, before he could overthink it, he tucked his left arm against his side, ignored his screaming ankle and the shooting pains in his hip, and rolled into the cold water.

The cold hit him like a ringing roundhouse slap, and complete darkness surrounded him. Stunned, the shock overrode all the pain for a moment, and he flailed. His right hand finding the edge of the ledge again. He could feel the circulating current trying to drag him back to the opening, back to the main flow of a river so deep he'd never be found at the bottom.

Gasping, he let it pull him, moving his grip along the ledge slowly. He couldn't see the opening now, it was too dark. But the sound of the rushing water slowly grew louder and louder.

Then, he was at the end of the ledge. He couldn't see the opening. If he let go, he'd probably not find another handhold.

_I have to get under that ledge. I can't drown in this pocket. They'd never find me._

Light stabbed his eyes, and he blinked.

Bell was hovering over the center of the pool of water.

"Bell!" McCoy called.

**[papa, sibling, gift]**

She felt confused. She'd helped him. Why was he unhappy again?

_She doesn't understand the danger. How can I tell her what I need?_

_It would take too long. She may never understand._

_She can't think like we do._

He looked around and realized he could see more of the small cave. He could see the long, narrow opening that barely cleared the water. Nearby was a cluster of rocks that he could use. If he could get to them, he'd be able to tuck himself through the opening, and the stronger current outside would drag him out.

And into the middle of the river.

"Bell! Stay there!"

He could feel her uncertainty and confusion. She was agitated now and starting to flick back and forth. Before she could move too much, taking her light with her, he pushed himself away from the ledge and toward the clump of rocks.

It hurt, and while the coldness of the water helped, the pain in his ankle, hip, and side made him want to throw up. The current helped him this time, and he was able to grab onto the rocks with his right hand. His left arm he curled back against his side.

His chest hurt more, up into his shoulder. He was doing damage by moving.

Letting his legs float, the current at this point tried to pull him under the overhang and back into the river.

One way or another, he knew it was where he would end up. Soon.

"Follow me, Bell!" McCoy ordered. "Be my light to the surface."

She was still confused.

McCoy took a deep breath and dived, pushing off as hard as he could toward the lip of the cave with his right arm and leg against the wall of rock.

It only took him a second to hit the hard flow of the river current. It was like being jerked to his feet from a sitting position.

He knew he was now out of the cave, and instead of fighting the current he looked for a light. He twisted and turned, his chest screaming in pain and the need to breathe. He thought he saw a light then and pushed himself in that direction. The current carried him along, making his upward momentum difficult.

_Now! Now! I need to breathe now!_

The light seemed to wobble and weave above him, bright enough to make him think he was _so_ close to the surface, and that Bell was following along.

He felt like he was in the dark sea once again, the one in his dreams.

The dark folds of water were cold now, not comfortable. And he was alone.

Was this another dream?

_Where did they all go? The others?_

Suddenly there were a lot of lights of all colors rippling above him. Like a living nebula.

_Not alone now. Either way._

But he'd used up the last of his energy. There was nothing left.

His chest spasmed, and he drew cold water into his burning lungs.

And like a dream, he felt himself start to fly.

 

***

 

 

The first time McCoy awoke he could hear people talking excitedly around him. The pain was still there, but dull and in the background. He couldn't tell specifically what hurt.

M'Benga was close by, giving orders to those around him for tests and procedures McCoy knew, but couldn't remember a millisecond later.

He was too tired to open his eyes to see where he was. But he didn't need to.

It was all the sounds and smells that told him he was home.

The voices were all familiar. The beeping of bio-monitors and the background hiss of air ventilation like a comforting lullaby.

The smells were of starship air, with the faint tang of medicines and bandages. The whiff of personal scents and freshly laundered sheets.

And then Jim was talking to him. Softly. Lovingly.

He couldn't process the words, but he didn't need to.

A warm palm cupped his face, the thumb rubbing comforting circles on his cheekbone.

He leaned into it, felt himself smile, and went back to sleep.

 

 

The second time he awoke, he could open his eyes. He was on the ship, in his MedBay, in the post-op recovery room. In a Biobed.

_That's probably not good. Or is it?_

"Hey there, Old Man," Jim said, leaning over him, his eyes warm and happy. The rest of him looked a mess. "You're home now. You're going to be fine."

"Jim?" McCoy asked, his voice thick with drowsiness and the medications he was undoubtedly on. He couldn't remember why.

_Looks like shit._

_Face messed up? Bruises?_

"You 'kay, Kid?" he fought to ask. He wasn't sure if he really said it or not.

He realized that his hand was in both of Jim's. Jim squeezed it.

"I'm _fine_ ," Jim said with a small smile. " _You're_ the one in the Biobed."

_Yeah. Why?_

A flash of panic started to fight its way up through the drugs. He couldn't remember the cause, but it was clear his father was in danger.

"Pa?"

"He's fine as well," Jim said soothingly. "He's on the ship and safe. We _all_ are, Sam and John included. But you gave me quite a scare."

"Sorry."

He really, really was.

"Don't be," Jim said gently. He leaned in and gave McCoy a soft kiss. "You're here. That's all I care about. Having you back here, with me."

McCoy could feel himself drifting off.

"Couldn't stay away, Kid," McCoy said, smiling as his eyes closed. "Never could stay away from you for very long."

With his hand still warm in Jim's, McCoy felt Jim's kiss on his lips again, then a whisper in his ear.

"Sleep now. Rest up. So I can take you home as soon as possible."

That sounded _wonderful_.

So he did.

 

 

The third time he awoke, he was in a double room.

The lights were dim, the window to the hallway opaque.

The lights on the Biobed to his left made bright flashes on the privacy screen between them.

Someone moved at his right. Their words were soft, gentle, and deeply familiar.

"Hello, son."

His father moved into his sight.

"Pa?" McCoy's voice came out slurred and thick.

 _Medicated to the gills,_ he thought with a funny kind of resignation.

"One and the same," David McCoy whispered. David laid his hand carefully on McCoy's chest. "Gave me a scare, leaving the hospital that way. Worried me something fierce."

McCoy remembered the fall. The river. Standing too close to the window when it went.

"Sorry," McCoy said. He now remembered saying it to Jim as well.

David smiled at him. "Wasn't your fault. You did good, though. _Very_ good. You hung on just as long as you needed to. Always was a fighter."

"Jim said everyone's okay?"

He wasn't sure he remembered it right. He wanted it to be true.

"All the family's okay. Some had more of a scare than others."

"Those in the hospital?"

David's face fell a bit.

"Too many died," David admitted. "More lived, though. You helped with that. Kept your head. Showed us _after-the-event_ types what to do _during_ the event. Less panic when we had something constructive to do. Damned proud of you, Leonard."

McCoy smiled.

"Jim find me? Sent me the tracker."

"John did. Every shuttle in that area was listening for that thing to make some noise. John got to you first. Said you were the biggest fish he'd ever pulled out of the water with a tractor beam."

McCoy chuckled. "He fishes that way often?"

"I was afraid to ask," David said with a smile. "That's illegal most worlds. Jim was here for a while, along with Sam, John, Uhura, and Spock. Plenty more asking. They're all busy with finishing up the recovery and tending to the mess down there. Told them I'd keep you company 'til morning."

"What happened?"

"What they're trying to find out." David shook his head. "Bombs set on purpose. The hospital was the target. Apparently, Jim and Sam had their own adventure."

McCoy frowned. " _Sure_ they're okay?"

"Would I let them not be?" David asked with a chuckle.

"No, Sir," McCoy said, relaxing. His father was here. His father would take care of them.

He found himself growing sleepy again.

"Do have a question, though," David admitted. "Why did you swallow the tracker?"

"Afraid to lose it," McCoy said, around a yawn. "Seen drowned bodies before. Some naked. A strong current can rip everything off."

"Well, you'll be glad to know we've retrieved it, since M'Benga was in there anyway," David said. "Even let me watch him work on that spleen. Maybe we should've left that tracker in you. Save us all a lot of time in the future."

McCoy chuckled, feeling his eyelids droop.

"I think that about Jim, all the time," McCoy admitted. Then he grinned evilly. "He doesn't even ask what's in the hypos anymore. He wouldn't even know."

"I'll chalk that up to the drugs talking," David said with a laugh. "Go back to sleep, Son. I'll be here for a while yet."

McCoy took a deep breath, his eyes closing. His mind started to drift.

_Sleep is good. Papa's here to keep the monsters away._

Then his father's hand left his chest, and McCoy felt his face patted softly.

And he was pretty sure, before sleep overwhelmed him, that there was a kiss on his temple as well.

 

***

 

 

 

Jim stood on the Bridge, in front of his chair, hands behind his back. Showered, fed, and back in uniform, he had his third wind. All around him Gamma shift, with a few crewmen from the others, was all working studiously at their stations. What should have been a slow shift had turned into a busy night's work. For everyone.

He knew he should be sleeping. Bones had been found, had come safely out of surgery, and would sleep awhile yet. David had offered to stay by him, in case he woke up again. Which also solved the problem of keeping David in bed. M'Benga had tried to argue with the elder Doctor, but David had insisted that he didn't need a Biobed. Others did. And he didn't want a guest room. He wanted a reclining chair by his son's bed, and that would have to do. Jim felt grateful that David would be there for Bones if he woke up during the night.

Below them, it was past midnight on this side of Pattor, and Jim had watched as the lights from the cities had gone from large star-cluster groupings to lone lights in an almost empty sky.

Except for the small blob of light that was Fallat, possible because of their new emergency power stations, now that their main one was gone. Where Rescue, Recovery, and Repair services would be working non-stop, day and night, for many weeks yet. Along with them hundreds of groups from their neighboring cities and communities. Everyone was horrified over what happened and had offered assistance.

Which included those looking to place the blame for the attack where it rightfully belonged.

Because there was no doubt about it being an attack. Now they all needed to know the who and why.

And Jim wanted very much to help with that.

Sam and John were in the Ready Room, helping Spock go over various lists, in case they had information that he didn't. Some of the same records Jim was studying himself.

_The answer is there. Somewhere._

_Four bombs. The Pattorites are looking for bomb remnants now, although I'd rather my people were doing it. We should be able to tell a lot from their composition._

_Timed to go off during the conference. Was it the hospital that was the target, or the attendees?_

_They could have bombed the hospital at any time. Unless their only way into those areas was during check-ups and maintenance updates, preparing for the conference. I'll have to see if we can get the Triumvirate's notes about that. Was something new installed? Something repaired? What kind of video do they have of those areas, those accesses?_

_It feels more like a conference issue to me. Against those who attended._

_But I need something to go on._

"Jim?"

He turned. Sam, also showered, fed, and in clean clothes, was coming up to stand with him. Sam looked tired and haggard.

"You called Aurelan?" Jim asked.

"Just now," Sam said. "Everyone's fine. They hadn't heard about the bombings yet, so she wasn't already upset. She's relieved to hear we're all fine, of course. She's also grateful you and the _Enterprise_ were here."

"I'm just glad you could give her good news." Jim turned back to the lists scrolling down the side of the vidscreen. "Orders just came in, that we're to give all assistance to the Pattorites in this manner. I've had to cancel all shore leave until further notice. We'll have about five days, maybe more, before we have to move on. If the planet needs more help, they can send in another ship. One full of any supplies they might need. There are already several on the way. The _Enterprise_ needs to take those we brought here back home."

"You can't stay to figure out who did this?" Sam asked.

"I'm sure that the Federation, and Starfleet Medical, will be working on this," Jim said, shaking his head. "But that's not what Starships are for. We're spread so thin as it is that we can't always follow these incidents up ourselves."

"But you'd like to," Sam said.

"Damn right I do," Jim admitted. "This whole thing stinks, and I want to know why all those researchers and medical personnel died."

The body count was growing. All of those sick and injured, already in the hospital had been evacuated, along with those doctors and support staff. The flood only affecting the power on their upper floors. Of the just over eight hundred convention attendees, it was confirmed that one hundred and eighty-three had died. Most had drowned in the lower levels. Those without windows. Six were still missing and assumed swept out to the river or still under collapsed structures. There were other deaths as well. Like those caught in the structural collapse of parts of the racing caverns. And the various cave-ins and collapses near the bomb sites. It was adding up.

Some of both the missing and dead had been ferried in by the _Enterprise_. It would be their job to take those people home.

The hospital's computer center had been reported as a total loss. And of the secure area at the very bottom? Fallat's Governing Triumvirate wasn't saying. They'd accepted help from those around them to pump out the water, and help with the recovered bodies from that area. But Jim and Spock had noticed that they deflected questions about their computer center and below. Once the upper levels and the conference floors had been cleared, the Triumvirate had restricted the area to their own people.

Jim shook his head. "It's late, Sam. You need to get some sleep."

"I will, if you will," Sam countered with a smile. "I can wrestle you back to your quarters if you won't go willingly. Just like old times. Here, you won't have a window or roof to escape to."

"You're _not_ the boss of me," Jim said with a smile. "But I appreciate the suggestion. More than I did back then."

_How many times did I say that to him as a kid? He was only trying to take care of me._

_A kid trying to take care of another kid. Must have driven him crazy._

Sam smirked. "Believe me, raising kids is a whole lot easier when you _are_ the boss of them."

Out of the corner of his eye, Jim saw Spock coming toward them.

"Captain," Spock said, something on his face telling Jim he had some news. "I think we may have some new information, to share, in the Ready Room."

Jim nodded to Spock and signaled Sam to follow.

Inside the Ready Room, John was pacing back and forth along one wall. Along it was a data display of various lists. Many of which Jim had been looking at himself.

"Something fishy's gone on here," John said, arms across his chest, one hand worrying at his lip as he studied one list in particular.

"What?" Jim asked.

John reached down to a computer and pulled up a hologram in the center of the table. He brought up Pattor, and there were about a dozen ships in orbit, each with an identification tag following them as they moved.

"Because of my job with Deneva's Department of Digital Defense, they let me have some of their security data," John said. "Not from the hospital, but from their planetary Security Systems. The stuff they'll give Starfleet anyway, if they think to ask for it."

"They'll think of it," Jim promised. "What are we seeing?"

"People have been coming to Pattor for days before the conference," John said. "Arriving a little early, probably looking for some R&R and settling into their rooms before all the conference networking. Now, see this ship?"

John pointed to one in particular. "That's an Orion ship. Civilian. Small and quick."

John pressed a button, and the scene jumped forward a few days. There were a lot more ships in orbit. Including the _Enterprise_.

"Ship is still here. Now, see this other ship come in?"

From further out in space, Jim watched as an Issidan ship pulled in. Close behind it, two other ships arrived, not even hours later.

"That's an Issidan ship. Regular transport ship. They move merchandise and transport passengers. Nothing unusual. The two behind it?"

"An Andorian and Tek'lar," Jim said, reading the tags.

" _No_ ," John said. "That's what their transponders _say_ , and they may be registered that way, but those are rebuilt Orion ships. I recognize some of the black-market modifications of the Orion design."

John halted the hologram, reached in and enlarged the last two ships.

"I'll bet you a million credits that this was a hit of some kind. An assassination. I've seen the Orions do that before. First ship scouts out the area. The second ship follows the target. The third ship is there to make sure the target ship doesn't pull a fast one and lose their tail. They follow the target to the surface, take out the target and _all_ their contacts, and then stick around to make sure they were successful."

"But if there was someone in that ship they wanted to take out, why wouldn't they do that while they were in space?" Sam asked.

John shook his head. "Espionage isn't like the holo-vids show. Not like a lot of fiction. Secret or secure data can be passed in an instant. Across vast distances. Sometimes, it's only a millisecond between the moment it was a _secret_ , and the moment _everyone_ has the information. But you _can_ stop those who can make use of the data, or expand upon it. Then it could get lost in the bloody shuffle."

"Medical data?" Jim asked, seeing what John was saying. "Bones said something about a rumor of some big, surprising discovery to be announced during the conference."

"Yeah," Sam added. "I heard a bit of chat on the forums about that, before we left. Someone... a Doctor Bendout, was bragging that he had some major news he was going to announce at the conference. A breakthrough he had made that would benefit us all."

"Bendout?" Jim asked with surprise. "Bones mentioned him yesterday morning. Said that there was a lot of buzz going on in the background about some new discovery that was going to rock the medical world."

"Was anyone specific about what type of information Doctor Bendout was to present?" Spock asked.

"No, no details," Sam said with a shrug. "That was the thing. Lots of rumors, but Bendout wasn't confirming or denying anything. But it was on all the Viral and Research Biology forums."

"Was he Issidan?" John asked.

Sam frowned. "I don't know. I hadn't read any of his research yet. I'm not sure where he was from, or who he worked for."

Jim turned to Spock. "Let's find out. Did Doctor Bendout arrive on _that_ Issidan ship? You may have to contact the Triumvirate's people to find out. Contact Starfleet Medical and see what they have on Doctor Bendout."

Spock nodded and left for the Bridge.

John was now pulling up the lists of attendees they knew about, survivors and the dead.

"He's dead," John announced. He turned back to the holo on the table. "And look at the three modified ships. The ship he came in on is still there. Two of the others left right before the bombs went off. The third stayed for a while. In fact, they left not too long ago."

John pulled up the timeline.

"It stayed until the third revised list of the dead was posted." John stabbed a finger at it. "Minutes after Doctor Bendout's name was posted, on the _third_ update of the list, they left."

"Job done," Jim said grimly.

John nodded. "Someone had a paid hit out on the good Doctor, to make sure he never made that presentation, and to take out all his friends as well. And I can tell you one thing, if these ships belong to the same assassin's guild I'm thinking of, they don't come cheap. They're out of the Federation's reach, damned hard to find without getting yourself killed, and you pretty much need to be a government to afford them."

"Assassin's guild? _Outside_ the Federation?" Sam asked, looking at John with surprise. "John? Should I ask what you did _before_ you retired?"

"No," John said solemnly. He gave Sam an apologetic glance. "Not if you love me."

Sam's eyes widened, and he clamped his mouth shut.

"And look at the itinerary," John continued, pointing at more displayed data. "The hospital staff had been moving around the times and presentations until just before the bomb went off. Doctor Bendout _was_ to have given his presentation the first day, down in the lower levels, where almost everyone died. They changed that the first thing this morning. From this afternoon, right when the bombs went off, to the last presentation of the week. By then, the bombs were probably already on a timer."

"And the assassins still came out ahead," Jim said. "He died. Along with a large number of researchers who may have taken his work and run with it. Would the organizers have had a legitimate reason to reschedule him?"

"They may have needed a bigger room, depending on the response," Sam said with a shrug. "He may have asked for the change. If he wanted to make a grand announcement but didn't want to be flooded with questions while he was here, he'd go last. Then follow up once back at home. He may have wanted to scope out the other doctors and researchers he'd only known through subspace or their published work. Get to know them better before he revealed his great discovery."

Jim frowned. "Whatever it was, it was worth not only killing the research scientist, but all his friends and contacts as well. Wait until they were gathered, all in one spot, then take out as many as they could while keeping him from making that presentation."

"And take out the hospital's computers while they were at it." Sam shook his head. "Do you think the Pattorites knew what he was going to present? Rumor is that have their own research lab at the very bottom. That was destroyed as well."

"So they're saying," John said. "For all we know that lower level, and the computer level, were waterproof."

"I don't think the Pattorites were involved," Jim said, walking closer to the table, his eyes on the hologram. "But his presentation would have been stored in their system if he had any visual aids or any computer data he wanted to share afterward. He may not have done so yet, once his presentation had been moved back. But setting off the bombs the way they did took care of that problem as well." Jim looked at John. "So they're saying."

John nodded. "And everyone could assume that it was the Pattorites research they wanted to destroy. And the conference just happened at the same time."

Spock came back into the room.

"Captain," Spock said. "The Pattorite records report that Doctor Bendout _did_ arrive on the _Meklain_ , the Issidan ship in question. I have contacted Starfleet Medical. A response is pending."

Jim sighed and rubbed his face, he was getting a headache.

"Okay, we have our theory. We can keep an eye out for anything that supports or conflicts with that theory. All shifts will be working on all aspects of the situation. Later, I can write up a report, and send it to Starfleet. But for now... I think we all need some sleep."

Sam sighed tiredly. John nodded.

"Sam?" John asked. "You coming back to the _Reboot_ , or staying here with David and Len?"

"I'll stay here," Sam said. "Jim's got a room for David and me here. We can make do until you're ready to leave for home."

John nodded. "I'll have them beam me down next to my ship. Wanna keep an eye on her. They may need me to put her in orbit if they want the landing space for their own recovery efforts. I'll let the _Enterprise_ know if I have to move her."

Jim turned to Spock. "You know what we're interested in. Collect all the data you can on your own, and anything the Pattorites want to share. We'll also need to make arrangements to take our dead and wounded passengers back to their homeworlds. You'll know where to find me."

"Understood, Captain."

Jim, Sam, and John headed for the corridor and the lift.

John got off on the transporter level. Jim walked Sam to his guest room.

"Let me know, if anything happens," Sam said quietly. "See if you can get David to come back to the room and sleep."

Jim smiled. "You knew I was headed to MedBay?"

Sam chuckled tiredly. "I know you better than you think I do."

The door to the guest quarters slid shut behind Sam, leaving Jim in the dim, quiet corridor by himself.

_You probably do, Sam. And if not, you will. Someday._

_And that means more to me than I ever wanted to admit._

_To either of us._

Jim turned and headed toward MedBay.

 

***

 

 

McCoy was drowsing when Jim came in. McCoy lifted a finger to his mouth in warning. David was asleep in the chair next to him, and McCoy didn't want Jim to wake him.

Jim went to the other side of the bed and leaned in so they could whisper. Close up, in the dim lights, McCoy could see that Jim was exhausted.

"Just wanted to check in before I hit the bed," Jim said.

"'Bout time," McCoy said. "You're almost as bad off as I am."

"Hardly," Jim said with a slight smile. "How're you feeling?"

"Drugged," McCoy said. "Want to go home. But I'd just keep you awake. And no use waking Pa just to move him. You find out what the hell happened?"

"We have a theory," Jim admitted. "Maybe way off base, but I'll be sending it to Starfleet tomorrow. The intel we get from the Pattorites in the morning could change our minds. Do you remember what you told me after our barkeen ride, about some big medical presentation coming up at the conference? The one researcher that wasn't giving out any information, but was bragging?"

McCoy thought about it for a moment. His memory was a bit of a jumble, and they'd had a busy day that day. The meds didn't help.

"Yeah... uhm... Doctor Bendout?"

Jim nodded. "Did you ever hear what he was working on? Ever correspond with him?"

"Me? No. Why? You think all this death and destruction was about him?"

"Theory." Jim leaned over and kissed him. "We'll all sleep on it. Good night."

"Do that," McCoy said. "Night."

As Jim walked out of the room, McCoy found that now he couldn't help but ponder it himself.

 

***

 

Jim sat in the corner of the _Reboot's_ galley, swirling the remains of the drink in his cup while listening to everyone around him talk. It was a 'going away' party that John had invited Scotty, Sulu, Chekov, Spock, and Uhura to as well. With all shore-leave canceled, and everyone tired from the aftermath of the bombing, it was great to just sit back and visit for a while.

And it gave John a way to show off his ship. The _Reboot_ was a sexy, powerful ship, and Jim had to admit that he would be seriously jealous if he didn't have the _Enterprise_ under his command. She was comfortable for a crew of eight for long-term voyages but could be piloted by one. She could haul some cargo, and still make planetfall. Even her bridge and computer center pulled Spock in like a magnet.

Jim and Bones had exchanged knowing glances during that part of the tour. Spock, as well as Scotty, Sulu, and Chekov, had been intrigued and asked John a lot of questions about his set-up. But Spock and John had been watching each other closely. Something about Spock still bothered John, and something about John still bothered Spock. Impasse.

Bones had been right. It had been amusing to watch, if not a little worrisome.

Now, days after the bombings, John, Sam, and David were getting ready to head back home. Most of those who'd come for the conference had already left, either alive, wounded and still healing, or dead. The _Enterprise_ was leaving in the morning as well. They had their own wounded and dead to ferry home. They might have been ordered to move on even sooner if it weren't for the two passengers who'd been missing until this morning. Enough of their remains had been recovered to be certain that they hadn't survived.

And while the death count had stopped climbing, the confusion, anger, horror, and need for answers was growing.

And the _Enterprise_ could help with none of that now.

Chekov said something that Jim didn't catch, and those around him laughed.

"Well, it's getting late," Sulu said, standing and holding out his hand to John. "Thanks for the invitation. I'm seriously, horribly jealous now."

John stood up and shook Sulu's hand with a smile.

"Then hocking my soul to buy her was worth it. Been great meeting you all."

"You'll send me the specs like ye promised, right?" Scotty asked, looking concerned as he rose. "'Cause you know I'd _love_ to see this beautiful lady naked."

Everyone laughed.

"You got it, Scotty," John said. "I'll be in touch."

That started a long, pleasant round of goodbyes between everyone but Jim and Bones. As the others left, to be beamed up just outside the ship, Jim set his glass down and turned to the rest.

"Probably best to be going," Jim said, placing a hand on Bones's arm. "He needs to get back and rest. M'Benga said he's still got a few more days off his feet."

"I'm fine," Bones complained. Then he nodded sheepishly. "But I guess I could lie down for a while."

"Been wonderful to see you," David said, coming over to give his son a hug.

Jim gave Sam a hug.

"Stay safe, Jim," Sam said quietly into his ear. "Come see Winona after she's born."

"We'll shoe-horn her in on our schedule if at all possible," Jim promised. Jim pulled back and looked at Sam with a teasing smile. "Or, as close as we can get. Wouldn't miss out on meeting her for the universe. Besides, we have all those Christmas presents to drop off for the kids. You wanted to start your own family band, right?"

"No, you didn't!" Sam said with a wince. He pushed jokingly at Jim's shoulder. "You got them musical instruments?"

"Sure did," Jim said with a laugh. "Lots of blinking lights, loud horns, and drum noises! John's volunteered to shuttle them back for us, to make sure they'll be ready for the big day. Bones and I expect a concert included in our Christmas vid."

"Earplugs," Bones added with a laugh. "Invest in earplugs and gift baskets for apologizing to the neighbors."

"I'll consider myself, and Aurelan, warned," Sam said with a shake of his head. "Just remember you two. Payback will be coming sometime in the future. And I'll enjoy that no end."

Jim went to give David a hug goodbye.

"You spoil those kids rotten for us, _Grandpa_ ," Jim said as he hugged David tightly.

"You know I surely _will_."

"Let me walk you out," John offered when his turn came.

Jim took the hint, and with a bit of sadness, he and Bones made their way out onto the landing field. It was mostly empty this far away from Fallat's entrance. Most of the ships around them were there helping with Fallat's recovery and were Pattorite ships. They'd be busy rebuilding for quite a while.

After walking several meters away from the _Reboot_ , John stopped, hands on hips while he looked at the distant walls of the town and the ships around her.

"I have the dampening field on," John said quietly. "But this is the limit. We can talk here."

"What's going on?" Bones asked.

"I've been in contact with Philip," John said.

 _Starfleet's Surgeon General. If you're going to have an old friend in high places, he'd be the one to have,_ Jim thought.

They'd met Boyce before, and Jim had been impressed and grateful for the decision Boyce had made to protect not only John, but Jim and Bones as well. On paper, Jim and Bones had actually worked for him for a while. The protection Boyce had offered had probably saved both their careers.

"He says to tell you that Starfleet Medical is following up on your report," John continued. "He thinks your theories on the cause of this whole _incident_ have merit. Although more vocal forces are wanting to make it a Pattorite affair. Put the blame on internal politics, and whatever the local government had down at the bottom level they don't want anyone digging into. Some clashes are going on in Pattorite politics. Between nations. And some have been nasty enough to not only take the blame for the bombings, but could easily be believed. Easiest way for some in the Federation to pretend it's not something they need to put any effort into investigating."

"Boyce now thinks Doctor Bendout was the target?" Bones asked.

John nodded. "And he's got people following up on that angle. Bendout used to work for one of the larger medical research companies that operate near the Klingon border. You know how a lot of those simple colds and viruses are mutating in systems along that area?"

Bones huffed. "We should. The _Enterprise_ spends a lot of time taking new vaccines to that area."

"Let me guess," Jim said. "Used to work for one of those big companies. Left to do his own research. Comes up with something fantastic based on what he's seen at his old job. But that old job doesn't want word to get out, to anyone, because they're researching the same lines."

"Pretty much what he's looking into," John agreed. "You all got orders to move on. He wanted you to not fuss about it, and leave it to his people. Even though we all want to dig in, flush out those murderers, and make those responsible pay."

"We do," Jim said with a sigh. "But this is bigger than us. I hate to leave things this way."

"You and me both," Bones muttered.

"He's pissed that so many researchers were taken out," John said gravely. "There's more going on between us, the Klingons, and the Romulans than just border skirmishes. He's got his eyes on it."

"Thanks for letting us know, John," Jim said. "Keep us in the loop, when you can. Keep an eye on David and Sam's family for us."

"You know I will."

John reached out for a hug.

" _Thank you,_ John," Jim said quietly into John's ear, squeezing him tightly. "For saving him. For being there when we needed you."

"No thanks needed," John replied, sounding a bit shy. He pulled back. "Love you both. I'll be _insulted_ if you don't call when you need me."

Bones came up for his hug.

"I owe you one," Bones said to John with a smile.

"Still the other way 'round, Grandkid." John grinned. "I owe you both for every remaining moment of my _natural_ life. Just be happy and safe. Both of you."

John then grew serious, and frowned.

"Which reminds me. Keep an eye on that Mr. Spock of yours. I can't quite pin it down. Somethin' strange going on with him."

Bones grinned wryly. "Vulcan's are like that."

Jim nodded, smiling. "We will John. You all take care."

Jim pulled out his comm and signaled the _Enterprise_ that they were ready for beam up as John turned and headed back to his ship.

_Time to pull up stakes and move on._

_Time to take the dead, and the living, home._

_And count our own blessings._

For now, it was all they could do.

***

 

 

Leonard McCoy was dreaming. He knew he was, because he recognized the ocean of life from earlier dreams. The dark, black water surrounded him, and he was at home in its warm, comforting embrace.

Not like the cold river where he'd almost drowned.

He liked it here. Felt welcomed and a part of it. He floated effortlessly, watching the various forms of life float around him. All of them amazing and beautiful.

Then, right in front of him, one by one, they started to disappear.

 _Where are they going?_ he wondered. _Are they traveling, like Bell travels?_

He grew restless. Unsettled.

_Alone._

Loneliness filled him.

_Where are they? The others like me?_

_Where's Jim? I need him._

Then, from a great, great distance, he heard a call.

It wasn't sound, but more like a feeling. A longing. An invitation.

Suddenly, lust bloomed through his body. It was new, unexpected, scary, and exhilarating.

It burned him from the inside out, making him a flame.

Turning all his thoughts in one direction.

_Need. **Need**. To **Join**. To become more than just ONE! **NEED**._

He jolted fully awake at that last screaming thought, his heart pounding, his skin burning with a hot flush, his cock hard and aching.

Gasping, he found himself in bed, in the dark, with Jim asleep at his side.

Exactly where he'd started the night.

Above him, Bell floated silently.

**[papa]**

She sent him only the one word, but in it were flashes of images, and a need and longing similar to his. But different.

A sun in a sky, its color a bit blue.

A vast, green-blue landscape, thick and lush.

A group of those like her, and the overwhelming _need_ to join with one.

To fly, and mate, and become one from two as they fell back to the jungle below.

Then, the search for the perfect branch, to build a nest.

Raise her young.

And the need was so great that he wanted to cry with it.

Panting with the strength of that need, McCoy watched as she carefully landed on his chest, and dropped a small object.

"Bell?" He gasped, picking it up. It was hard.

She flashed him another image.

It was a pebble. From a beach somewhere far away. She liked it.

She was giving it to him.

Saying goodbye.

Then, with a burst of joy, she left, leaving gaping darkness where her light had been.

Clutching the stone in his fist, gasping at his own arousal, he reached over to grab Jim and shake him awake.

"Wha...?" Jim jolted, struggling to sit up and come awake.

"Jim?" McCoy said, trying to slow his panting.

"Bones?" Jim sat and turned to him quickly. His voice was full of alarm. "Lights! You okay?"

"It's Bell!"

"Is she okay?"

McCoy nodded, his heart still beating fast.

"She's left. For good."

"Just now? You sure?"

"I'm sure," McCoy said. "Gave me a pebble she liked. Said goodbye. Off to find a mate and nest. Somewhere. Her kind are gathered and calling out to her. She won't be back."

"Damn, I'm sorry," Jim said, his voice soft, but with worry behind it. "But I guess we knew it might happen. You okay, though? You're all flushed and breathing heavy."

"I think she just hit that puberty wall, at about a hundred klicks an hour," McCoy said with a harsh laugh. "Took me with her. Got me all revved up."

"Oh! Well..." Jim said with a sultry tone as he lay back down and rolled over next to McCoy. He put his hand on McCoy's chest. "We don't have to let all that firepower go to waste."

Quickly, McCoy placed the small stone on the side table, then turned and pulled Jim into his arms.

He pulled Jim on top of him, his mouth finding Jim's neck, the smell and taste of him adding to the burn of Jim's body on his. McCoy arched, grinding his aching cock into Jim, unmindful of the sheets caught between them.

"Careful," Jim murmured in his ear. "You're not all healed yet."

" _Need_ you," McCoy heard himself moan, then plead. " _Please_."

Jim gently pushed away, and McCoy let him, even though it was the last thing he wanted to do.

He would die without Jim.

"Just to take the edge off," Jim promised.

Then they were both pulling the sheets away, and Jim moved between McCoy's legs. McCoy spread his legs gratefully.

With a hand around the base of McCoy's cock, Jim sucked in the head.

McCoy yelled with the heat of it, the pure pleasure that swept over him. His body trembled.

Jim pushed down on McCoy's hips with his free hand, to keep him from thrusting. Then, taking a breath, Jim swallowed him deep.

McCoy moaned. Almost cried with that hot, tight, pleasure. Straining, on the edge, McCoy grabbed at Jim's head, and came.

He was drowning in the release, body arched up into maximum penetration. Each hard, wrenching pulse of ejaculation blanked out the world and made him see stars, over and over again.

It was gratification and need. Pain and that first gulp of air after drowning. Fullfilling and overpowering at the same time.

It lasted forever and stopped time.

When his brain came back online, he was still gasping, his heart still hammering.

And his straining during orgasm may have pulled a few bits that had been repaired not too long ago.

It didn't matter.

But it wasn't all he needed.

Jim pulled off carefully, sucking in air as if he, himself, had almost drowned. McCoy's fingers still entwined in the bits of hair long enough to be grasped.

_I need more._

" _Love_ me," McCoy begged. "Make me _feel it_ for days."

Jim reached for McCoy's nightstand drawer, knowing its contents as well as his own. McCoy twisted around, pulling at a pillow to slip under his hips as he positioned himself on his stomach.

McCoy didn't have to see or touch Jim's erection to know it was there. He could hear Jim's arousal in his breathing, see it in the tightly controlled but slightly frantic movements of his fingers searching through the loose items in the drawer. He could feel it by the hotness of his body where he pressed against McCoy's.

Jim was hot and bothered, and it meant everything to McCoy to know that he could still do that to his lover.

Finally, Jim found what he was looking for, and McCoy spread himself as wide as he could, Jim's hot palm on his back while Jim prepped himself.

Then the cool, slick touch of Jim's fingers at his anus, rubbing and stretching.

McCoy wanted to purr with it.

He might have.

Then, Jim was using both hands to spread him, his lubed cock head poking at McCoy's ass. Jim reached down to center the tip just inside McCoy's anus, then pushed.

Hard.

And gasping, McCoy pushed back, opening himself up.

And then it was deep, deeper and deepest when Jim bottomed out. McCoy could feel Jim's ball's resting against him.

The pressure inside him was what he wanted. He loved it. He wanted to hold Jim inside him forever.

Jim started thrusting. Easily, carefully. But McCoy made his impatient noises, the deep grunts that told Jim how he loved it, the thin whines when Jim started to pull out. McCoy grabbed at Jim's hands, which were holding him at his waist, trying to pull Jim down even closer.

"Harder!" McCoy gasped.

Jim shifted while still inside him, moving his leg's over the top of McCoy's one at a time until he was straddling him. McCoy tilted his ass up even more, so Jim could go deeper. His back almost painfully arched.

Grunting, a wall of heat at McCoy's back, Jim started thrusting again. The thrusts were shorter, but harder and deeper.

McCoy's moans joined Jim's. He could tell when Jim got lost in the lust and the grind of their bodies. Jim gulped air and made deep chest noises that were self-indulgence, the need for more, and the build-up to climax.

McCoy's cock, having only partially softened, firmed up again, and now McCoy was once again building up to climax with the friction against the pillow under him.

"Fuck me, Sweetheart," McCoy moaned, the pressure for a second release building. "Take me deep. Love me deep. Don't stop.... don't stop...."

McCoy felt Jim's weight shift, and teeth scrape McCoy's shoulder, then a nip here, then there, close by.

Jim shifted just a bit more, and the head of his cock hit McCoy's prostate, then pushed past it, making McCoy's insides sing.

After a couple of those, McCoy was powerless to hold back, and his body clenched and forced out more ejaculate in deep, breath-stealing orgasm.

Jim pushed in one more time, hard, then locked up around McCoy.

Fuzzy from his own release so soon after the first, still feeling their echoes, McCoy savored every new, careful, deep thrust into his body as Jim ejaculated, relaxed, then pushed in again. Jim's deep gasps right beside McCoy's ear a sweet treasure.

Then, both panting and slick from their efforts, they lay still. All of Jim's weight was on McCoy's torso. Jim's tight grip around him relaxed. Jim's hands started to roam gently, massaging his ribs, arms, whatever he could reach.

But not pulling out, or leaving.

McCoy could feel Jim's heart beat hard over his own. Felt its beat slow as his own slowed.

"What you wanted?" Jim asked lazily in McCoy's ear.

"Wanted. Needed. Can't live without," McCoy admitted sleepily.

"God, me too," Jim pushed up and kissed his shoulder. Then he chuckled. "Let's get cleaned up, then we can nest in bed. Hold you _all_ night."

McCoy sighed when Jim pulled out. He gave himself a moment just to drift, totally sated, as Jim went to the 'fresher.

It was everything he ever needed.

Later, they fell asleep in the nest Jim had made for them of clean sheets, new pillow cases, the comforter, and the soft mattress.

They curled up together, in their favorite position.

McCoy fell asleep feeling that, for the moment, all was right with the universe.

 

 

In the morning, McCoy woke to Jim's happy humming from the 'fresher. Jim had turned off the alarm and left the lights off to let McCoy sleep late. He had nowhere to be for another day or so.

While Jim was preparing for Alpha shift, McCoy reached over to find the gift Bell had left him. He turned on the lights. Then, still lying in his own warm nest, held it up.

It was the size of a child's marble and was mostly round. The majority was mottle with a blue-green surface that looked like land masses. The rest was a light, sky blue. Those parts looked like oceans.

_Does this look like the planet she was headed to?_

_Is this where all the other new, little Dragons go?_

He didn't know. He didn't even know if her eggs would hatch with life that looked like her or be mouse-like, like her parents.

It wouldn't surprise him if her children were as different from her as she was from her parents.

Maybe, her great-great-great-grandchildren would be born on that world, learn to use tools, build buildings, and create civilizations.

Maybe someday they'd learn how to travel the stars in ships of their own, or by exploring the space in between space, eon's after the current civilization's age had passed.

Or, maybe, they'd meet them in person, in the near future.

Life was strange and wonderful like that.

He'd miss her.

But, honestly? She was going home, where she belonged.

He wished for her what he had found for himself.

_All the best, little one._

_I wish you all the **best**._

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to my wonderful Beta! She helps me keep on track. Any mistakes are mine, as I mess with the story after all her hard work.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this 20th story in the series. I'm so surprised I actually made it this far. I thought the first story would probably be it. Surprise! Lol. The hope is there for another, but no promises.
> 
> And a huge thank you to all of you who've stuck around! Your feedback has been greatly appreciated and lovingly cherished. : D


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